fflcKain
PURCHASED FOR THE
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY
FROM THE
CANADA COUNCIL SPECIAL GRANT
FOR
HISTORY
grlmamurctjan
THE HISTORY
OF THE
PROVINCE OF MORAY.
VOL. II.
THE HISTOKY
OF THE
PROVINCE OF MORAY
Comprising the Counties of Elgin and Nairn, the greater part of the County of
Inrerness, and a portion of the County of Banff, — all called the Province
of Moray before there IPOS a division into Counties,
BY LACHLAN SHAW.
NEW EDITION.— IN THREE VOLUMES.
Enlarged and brought down to the Present Time
BY J. F. S. GORDON,
Author of " Scotichronicon," " Monasticon," &c.
VOLUME II.
GLASGOW:
•Printtb at the (Etutoer0itg Jfress,
AND PUBLISHED BY
HAMILTON, ADAMS, & CO., LONDON,
AND
THOMAS D. MORISON, GLASGOW.
1882.
/
CONTENTS OF VOLUME II.
PAGE
Elgin Past and Present (Cosmo Innes), ... 1
The Parish of Birnie, 39
The Parish of Dallas, 46
The Parish of Keneddar, 54
The Family of GORDON of Gordonstoun, . . 63
The Parish of Duffus, . . . . . .77
MORAYS of DufFus, 87
The Parish of St. Andrews, 93
The Parish of Spynie, . ... 94
The DUNBARS, . 98
The DUNBARS of Westfield, 101
The DUNBARS of Thunderton, . . . .104
The LESLIES of Findrasie, 120
The Parish of Alves, 145
The Parish of Kinloss, 152
The Parish and Town of Forres, . . 163
The Parish of Kafford, .176
Family of CUMMINE, 183
The Parish of Edinkillie, 185
Family of CUMMINE of Rylucas, . . . .191
Family of CUMMINE of Logie, . . . .193
The Parish of Ardclach, 195
The Parish of Moy and Dalarossie, .... 198
The Parish of Dyke, 208
Family of CULBIN, 232
EARLS OF MORAY, ...... 242
Family of BRODIE, ... . 248
The Parish of Aldearn, . . ... 252
The Town and Parish of Nairn, . . . .262
The Parish of Calder, 269
The Family of CALDER, 278
VI CONTENTS.
PAGE
The Parish of Croy, . .... 284
Family of ROSE of Kilravock, .... 285
Other Branches of the ROSE Family, . . . 296
The Parishes of Daviot and Dunlichty, . . . 307
The Parish of Ardersier, . . . . . .314
The Parish of Pettie, 318
The Town and Parish of Inverness, . . . 322
The Parish of Durris, ... . 334
The Parish of Boleskin, 340
Family of LOVAT, 340
The Parish of Kilmanivack, 358
Family of MAcDoNALD of Glengary, . . . 360
The Parish of Urquhart, 361
The Parish of Kirkhill, . : ... 373
The Parish of Kiltarlity, 377
Family of CHISHOLM, 381
HISTORY OF THE
PROVINCE OF MORAY.
ANTIQUITIES OF MORAY — ELGIN PAST AND PRESENT.
A Lecture delivered on 23rd October, 1860, for the
benefit of the Elgin Literary and Scientific Associa-
tion, and printed at their request.
By Cosmo Innes, formerly Sheriff of Moray.
Mr. President, and Ladies and Gentlemen, — When the
gentlemen of the Elgin Literary and Scientific Associa-
tion did me the honour to ask me to deliver a lecture here,
their request found me very ill prepared. I was at a dis-
tance from my usual books and libraries of reference.
Even some notes of my own, the memoranda of many
years, are shut up at home and inaccessible. I was sepa-
rated from the small but compact band of literary and
antiquarian friends, among whom for a long time I have
been accustomed to work, and from whose stores I draw
more than it might be discreet to make known. I was
not even in Elgin, or one of your good burgh towns, where
local information could be readily had. You know I was
dwelling in the ghostly old palace of Gordonstown. But
alas! the Gordonstown library is gone, and though I
did take counsel with the shade of the wizard, Sir Robert,
who never failed to join company with me when I trimmed
my lamp at midnight, preparing for a spell of work after
the world was quiet — I found his line of study was different
from mine. He spoke knowingly about a pump of his
VOL. II. 1
2 ELGIN PAST AND PRESENT BY COSMO INNES.
own construction, that was to raise water higher with less
power than was ever done before, but I soon saw, that
was only company talk ; and at last the old man — he is a
tine bearded old fellow, with some of the features we see
in Sir Alexander Gumming — told me honestly that his
whole heart was in his crucibles and large alembic, which
he had fitted up in the vault of the west wing of the
chateau, and which are yet to produce the philosopher's
stone, and to yield gold and life as much as the possessor
desires to have.
You may be sure I asked the wizard all about old
Moray and its ways — how the people lived and thought in
the old time. But, bless you ! he knew and cared nothing
about that. He told me how his grandfather, the tutor
of Sutherland, made Gordonstown — joining Ogstown and
Pethnik and Burnside to Plewlands, where the Marquis
of Huntly had a grotesque old chateau before — and how
the son, educated in Holland, had ornamented it with
canals, and straight terraces, and avenues — and how he,
the wizard himself, had pulled down the middle of the
old house and built the present centre, leaving the wings
as they were in the first chateau. All that he told me
very accurately — also the exact number of bolls victual
that came into his granary — oats and bere ; but for the
people that paid the rent, and the land that produced it,
he took no care. They were not worth the thought of a
gentleman of coat armour, and, moreover, a philosopher
on the very point of discovering the great secret !
But something too much of this fooling. I wish only
to explain to you that I have been taken unawares — that
I might have declined complying, and found good excuse;
but, conscious of no ambitious motive but the desire of
giving you pleasure, and doing some little thing for the
honour of old Moray, and relying on your forbearance
with faults and errors, I hope to put together some-
thing to help us to pass away an autumn evening
pleasantly.
Having disclaimed the help of the dead magician, I may
be allowed to take some pride in the assistance of living
men. My friend, Captain Edward Dunbar — I may say
my hereditary friend, for our grandfathers were close
allies, and constant, almost daily, correspondents — has
brought me a mass of family papers, accounts, letters,
THE RUNIC PILLAR OF ELGIN.
notes, many of the most trivial kind, but all how inter-
esting after the lapse of a century or two ! He has told
me, too, the results of his own study and intimate ac-
quaintance with those stores. He is not like the magi-
cian of Gordonstown, and nothing fails to interest him
that lets in the least light on old manners. Shall we
blame him if he seeks his favourite sport chiefly on the
ground occupied by the great name of Dunbar !
I have another debt to acknowledge. A gentleman
among you, more knowing than most, perhaps than any
one, in the local antiquities of Elgin, and whose time is
very valuable, did not hesitate to spend an afternoon in
pointing out to me scenes and houses in Elgin that inter-
ested me. He has even been kind enough and zealous
enough for our common object, to put down for me, in
writing, a little volume of interesting notes, taken from
the title-deeds that have passed through his hands, and
which I hope to make use of for your benefit this evening.
Before I name him, you all know that the. person to whom
I allude is Mr. Robert Young.
I won't begin with the Romans, who indeed had a very
slender grip of Scotland ; and Dr. Taylor and Mr. Mac-
donald have not yet determined whether they were in
Moray at all.
The Norsemen, too, have left their marks on our coast,
but nothing more. Those unaccountable mounds at
Burghead may be theirs; and the singular custom of
carrying the Yule fire round the village and harbour, and
blessing the boats, savours of Scandinavia. That curious
head-land, with its harbour sheltered from the north-east,
was a likely haven for a band of sea-faring adventurers.
But I give them nothing more. The Forres Stone is a
native Monument ; so is the ancient Monument* at Elgin,
* The Elgin Pillar was discovered in 1823 when the streets
were under repair, lying about two feet below the surface in a
horizontal position, as if it had been thrown down there by
accident, a little to the north-east of the old Church of St.
Giles. Nothing whatever is known of its previous history. It
is now preserved in the Cathedral. This pillar is evidently
incomplete, a part having been broken off from one end of it.
It is now 6 feet in length, 2| in breadth, and 1 foot thick ;
composed of a reddish grey granite, very like that of Aberdeen-
shire. The base of this stone is of less breadth than the top,
THE RUNIC PILLAR OF ELGIN.
now preserved in your Cathedral. Both have the Cross
and Christian symbols, while the Norse invaders were all
Pagans ; and what, indeed, of lasting edifice could we
expect from those hordes of plunderers, spending their
summers in harrying the coast or fighting among them-
selves, and returning to their northern homes in winter,
to drink ale and mead, and sing the glory and the
riches of the successful pirate ? I leave " the Danes,"
then, to Mr. Macdonald, who will dig them out if any-
body can, and pass on to the next picture in the peep-
show.
When we first knew something of our own people — say
in or about the year 1200 — Moray was the seat of a pro-
tracted rebellion, supporting what we may call the Mac-
beth family, against the reigning dynasty. That rebel-
lion was at length crushed, and with such violence that
our chroniclers assure us the whole people of Moray were
carried away, and the land given to strangers — evidently
a great exaggeration. The tillers of the soil were never
cleared out. But at that time — during the reign of David
I., and his grandsons Malcolm and William — we have
evidence of a great influx of Southern strangers — Norman
and Saxon lords, and Flemings, who got large grants of
lands in Moray. Whether of these new settlers or de-
which is the case with the Mortlich Stone. One side represents-
very distinctly a hunting party, consisting of four men on horse-
back, and three dogs : one of these is seizing a deer by the
flank. On each side of the uppermost horseman are two birds,,
most probably hawks. It is difficult to say what the figures
above this hunting party represent. One is a crescent reversed;,
above this are two circular bodies united by two bands, through
which passes a zig-zag belt or band. Probably the whole is
some form of the mystic knot, so common in Runic carvings \
or it may be some representation of the celestial bodies. The
reverse of the stone contains, near the base, the Runic knot,
with indications of snakes' heads. In the upper division is a
cross of very elegant proportions, also covered with the Runic
convolutions. Several figures of priests occupy the spaces at
each of the four corners : the one on the left appears to have
some ornament round his neck. The Elgin Pillar may have
been commemorative of the death and burial of some great
general or chief ; or the boundary-mark of hunting grounds*
(Rhine? s Sketches, p. 138.)
THE DE MORAVIAS.
scendants of the old lords of the soil, the Family of De
Moravia (Moray), taking its surname from the Province,
was foremost in power and importance, when charters
and records first throw some light upon the population of
the province. Undoubtedly they were great Lords, those
De Moravias — Lords of Duffus and all its plain, of
Bucharn, and Arndilly, and Botriphny over Spey, of
Oroy-and Artirlie, of Petty and Brachly, besides Inver-
ness. All these are their proved possessions, proved by
charter evidence. But I think it very probable they had
moreover Darnaway, Alves, and the other great possessions
of the Earls of Moray. They built castles, one of .which
is still the admiration of the antiquary. They sent
some of their family to civilize the wild Norse Earldom
of Caithness, and in recompense had a grant of the
southern side of it, which was erected for them into
the Earldom of Sutherland. They were great friends
of the Church too, giving lands and tithes without
number to the Cathedral, of which one of themselves
was Bishop.
Do we know anything of the manner of life of these
times ? Something — not much ! We know that the
great lords were men of taste in building. Witness the
fine remains of Duffus, still so imposing. Witness the
strengths which still give interest to the banks of the
Fiddich and the Spey. The De Moravias were men of
some adventure, or they would not have been put forward
to reclaim Caithness, and they must have been stout
warriors — good men-at-arms — or they would not have
gained the Earldom of Sutherland. But for their domestic
and personal manners what shall we say ? No doubt they
had some feeling of their own dignity and knightly honour,
they had assuredly the generous feelings of strong and
brave and noble men, of men immeasurably above all
that surrounded them, and I am far from undervaluing the
qualities that were laced up in the corslet and cuirass of
the iron age of chivalry. Of domestic comforts they had
not dreamt. Their Castle of Duffus had no chimneys nor
any window-glass. When the winter winds blew fiercely
across the fen, they shut their stout window-boards — out-
side window shutters — and crowded round a fire of peats
in the middle of the hall, while the smoke found its way
out as it could, and was welcome, as communicating some
6 THE LADYHILL OF ELGIN.
feeling of heat to the upper chambers. There was then
no middle class of rural population.
What was the condition of the other extreme of society
— the labourers of the soil ? I fear they were ill-housed,
ill-clothed, ill-fed, not considered by their masters, except
as hewers of wood and drawers of water. The beasts of
their plough, though starved also, were somewhat better
off — their hide, at least, was thicker. It fared ill with
such a population in seasons like this, for a bad harvest
surely brought famine, and famine brought pestilence;
and the marsh fever and ague swept off those whom
hunger and the plague spared. For the most part they
were slaves, bound to the soil, and bought and sold with
it. They were happy only in knowing no better lot.
Still, all is not barren from Dan to Beersheba.
There are two pleasant spots for the eye to rest upon,
in that dreary time. The little burgh built on the
sheltered bank of the Lossie, long before the bishop had
chosen it for his seat, was strong in the union of its
inhabitants, and secured by the protection which the
good King David threw around his burgesses. The King
had erected a Castle on the green mound at its western
extremity — Ladyhill (called so from a Chapel dedicated
to the B. Virgin, originally within the Royal Castle, but
which survived it) — for defence against marauding pirates
from the sea, and the lawless bands from the hills, but
still more to support the burghers against the oppression
of the neighbouring barons, who were jealous of this little
knot of plebeians presuming to be independent — to prefer
the government of their own Aldermen, and the jurisdic-
tion of the King's Court, to the tender mercies of the
court of the Lord Baron. I say that was one bright spot
to rest the eye upon. It was pleasant to see trade, com-
merce and manufactures bursting into life, amidst an
industrious people, now first hoping to enjoy the fruit of
their own industry. It was pleasant to see the simple
domestic comforts which a town life renders possible for
the poor — the cheap luxuries — the mere security, and
warmth, and dryness, which formed a contrast with the
circumstances of the rural population of Moray of the 13th
century.
[On the top of Ladyhill, near the ruins of the Castle, a
Tuscan column, 80 feet high, was erected in 1839 to the
EXCAVATIONS ON LADYHILL.
memory of the last Duke of Gordon, the funds for which
were raised by subscription within the country. A
wheeling stair leads to the top, from which is a most
extensive panoramic view, extending from Covesea to
Cullen, and also the shores of the Caithness coast. In
1855, a statue of the Duke was placed on the top of the
column — the late Alex. Craig of Craigton having left a
bequest therefor, which was • further augmented princi-
pally by the Monty shire farmer club. The statue is 12
feet high, and is from the chisel of T. Goodwillie, Elgin.
In 1858, the Elgin Literary and Scientific Association
conducted excavations on the top of Ladyhill, when the
remains of three human bodies were discovered a little to
the north of the monument. One of the skeletons is in a
sitting posture ; the others were in a horizontal position
and placed just outside the outer walls of the Castle. A
flint arrow-head, several pieces of pottery, a copper coin of
Charles II., a quern, and several detached bones were also
found.] (Moray sldre Described)
Another green oasis in the desert was the Church,
There the strong man learnt of a power greater than
brute strength, and the rich man was taught to call the
poor his brother. Thither the starving despairing serf
went for food, and found some higher consolation. There
he sometimes heard the strange doctrine that in the eyes
of God all men are equal.
If you look to the time, the people, the circumstances,
the first setting up of the Christian minister to teach
Christianity is, after all, the greatest step in the civiliza-
tion of the world. You must think first — and it isn't very
easy for us now — you must think of the utter ignorance
— or worse, the degraded Pagan worship of stocks and
stones — you must think of the real savage — not the
melodramatic Oscars and Selmas of Ossian — but the true,
starving, half cannibal savage, without food, or clothes, or
shelter, without comfort or support in this world, or hope
beyond it — to enable you to appreciate the blessing of
the simple message of truth and peace and Divine love.
Simple the message must be to suit the people, and simple
though the messenger and minister of truth be also, the
first revealing of his divine errand is still the great event
in man's history.
Next, however, and no unimportant step, was the
8 THE PARSONAGE HOUSE OF ALDEARN.
binding of Christian men together by the organization
of the Church. An establishment of a Cathedral in the
old time was a very different affair from the setting up
of Manchester or any new modern Bishopric.
The Bishop of Moray — often a dignified statesman in
the King's Court — sometimes a man of high family and
even royal connection, presiding over 24 dignified clergy-
men of the Province — all bound to residence for a stated
period of the year in their college — and a countless num-
ber of chaplains, choral vicars, and subordinates of the
choir — formed a society of great influence — rivalling, and
even counteracting, the warlike element — the rule of the
strongest, which prevailed around — introducing a respect
for religion and its rites ; for peace ; for learning, such as
then was; for cultivation, of a higher standard than the
burghers could otherwise have attained.
The Bishop and Chapter kept up an intercourse with
churchmen of their own country and England, from
whence they drew their constitution. Many of them
travelled to Rome. One Bishop of Moray early founded
a college for educating his countrymen at Paris — when
Paris was the great University of Europe. Now, setting
aside their study and learning — their knowledge of books
(they were the sole depositaries of some memory of the
great ancients) — setting aside their higher accomplish-
ment— think how their communication with the outer
world must have raised them above the rough warriors —
the poor serfs who cultivated the fields around their
Cathedral. Reflect, too, how that civilization was spread
abroad, when the Canons of the Cathedral, each in turn,
retired to their rural benefices. When the Dean left
his pleasant Deanery — you call it the " North College "
now — and went to pass his summer months at his "great
stone house" of Boath — for so he proudly designated
the old Parsonage House of Aldearn — still more, when
a Canon connected with a Highland Cure, like the
Parson of Kingussie, went out of Cathedral residence
and returned for his annual sojourn in his Strath-
spey parish. Be sure they carried with them some
report of the events and speculations that were agitating
Christendom — rumours of an outer world which could
never otherwise penetrate these fastnesses.
So when a Monastery was planted in a rural district,
MONKISH EDUCATION IN THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 9
its effect was something which no event of modern times
can give us any conception of. When there was no
travelling, no newspapers, no books, no schoolmasters
(for the people, I mean), the establishment of a set of
Cistercian Monks, brought from some country consider-
ably in advance of their new settlement, was like a re-
volution. Poor as the monkish education might be in
the 13th century, the Monks placed by King David at
Kinloss, at Urquhart, at Pluscarden, were as far in ad-
vance of the people of Moray, as the most well-appointed
University would be now. We know that the Monks
were schoolmasters, and first brought some education to
the poor — such education as the rude savage could receive
— such education, too, as could be given without books.
But they taught still more by example. They were the
architects, the artizans, the mechanics, the masons and
carpenters, the plumbers and glaziers, first of their own
fabric — the House of God, which they loved to adorn —
and their own cloister — their sheltered walks — their re-
fectory— their cells and sleeping apartments — their fish-
ponds and gardens — their kitchen, too, be sure, with its
huge chimney, a comfort for themselves, and fitted for hospi-
tality. They worked for themselves first, and then for all
the country round, or such part of the population as could
be roused to take advantage of such examples. The
monks had not yet become the lazy gluttons which our
story-books take care to represent them. Even if they
took too much thought of outward things — if they pre-
ferred the cultivation of thejr garden and their farm
(that Abbey land of Kinloss was worth cultivating !) to
heavenly meditation and penance, neither their pool-
neighbours, nor we, their successors, had cause to reproach
them much. Under their direction, some improvement
took place, and the seeds were sown which sprung when
circumstances permitted or encouraged their growth.
Now let us leave the 13th century.
Pull the string of our puppet show and see what picture
next comes up. Not the grand Bruce and Balliol wars.
Not the " crested pride of the first Edward," and the long
struggle of poor Scotland, which produced the glory of
Bannockburn. That brilliant chapter of our history, so
far as regards the north, has been written so carefully and
so judiciously, by a member of this Association (Dr. James
10 THE GREAT DOUGLAS REBELLION.
Taylor), that I should only spoil his work by touching on
it. Let me lead you a little forward, but stopping for one
instant to note the changes that time and civilization and
even these great wars had brought in our province.
The National patriotic War, interesting all classes,
brought them nearer, and bound them in closer ties than
had held the noble and the peasant before. If we must
have war, it is a great thing to have a good war-cry ; and
I only hope that Garibaldi's cry of " Italy Independent "
may carry his countrymen through their troubles as well
as " Scotland and freedom " did the followers of Wallace
and Bruce. It is some compensation for the horrors of
war, even at the time, to have the ennobling feeling of
fighting and suffering for a great and sacred cause. To
after generations the agony of the great war of Scotch
independence brought yet greater recompense. Believe
me that even the blessings of peace and plenty are not
the whole of a nation's well-being. It is something to be
a nation, to be entitled to cherish national traditions, to
be able to look back with pride to the gallant deeds of
our forefathers, to sing the songs of our fatherland, and
still to call it ours. It is to that war we owe it that we
are not a mere English count}'' — a less fertile Yorkshire —
a larger Wales. We owe to it that we have a national
history and national literature.
Pass with me now, if you please, to the year 1457.
Moray was in great excitement in the year 1457. That
was the year of the great Douglas Rebellion, arid when
the Rebellion was suppressed, and the Douglases — one of
whom was Archibald Douglas, Earl of Moray — were all
slain or forfeited and ruined, the young King James II.
determined to give the earldom to his infant son, the
Prince David, a Prince who has escaped the notice of our
historians. To carry out that resolution, he came down
to Moray in person to set the Province in order, and
especially to arrange anew the rentaling of the Earldom
lands, which stood as they had done in the days of Ran-
dolph. But when he had come down and seen the Spey
and the Lossie, lived for a time at Darnaway, Elgin, and
Inverness, he felt, as all men have done, the fascination
of the country. He ordered his horses to be brought
down, and directed certain districts of Earldom lands to-
be left untilled, for hunting — carefully paying, however,
KING JAMES IV. ON PILGRIMAGE. 11
the damage to the tenants — or rather abandoning all rent
for those years. He chose Darnaway as his hunting-seat,
and completed the repairs of Randolph's hall there, begun
by the Douglases. But he had taste to like Elgin and
its cultivated society of dignified churchmen. * He some-
times took the hospitality of the Bishop (John Winchester,
an old and faithful servant of the Crown) at Spynie; some-
times dwelt in the Manse of Duffus, the residence of his own
kinsman, David Stuart, parson of Duffus — then employed
in rentaling the Earldom, afterwards himself Bishop, and
remembered as builder of the magnificent great Tower of
Spynie. While the King stayed in the Manse of Duffus
an accidental fire took place, which did some damage to
his Majesty's simple plenishing. But besides the mischief
from the fire, it is evident he found the Manse too small
for the accommodation of a Court, for we find in the
Exchequer accounts of that year, the expense allowed of
building a new kitchen at the Manse of Duffus, in Elgin,
while the King dwelt there. It stood, you know, till
quite lately, when the picturesque old Mansion, which
had received a King and his little Court, was pulled down
to make way for the comfortable square box which is now
occupied by Mr. Allan.
And now for another very long jump — over quite two
centuries — not for want of materials of interest, but want
of room and time. I could tell you how King James IV.
paid a visit to Innes, in one of his northern Pilgrimages,
in 1490. Then, what curious local history does Moray
afford in the early stages of the Reformation, when the
stout old reprobate Bishop Hepburn would have nothing
to do with their new-fangled ways, but shut the gates of
his Castle of Spynie against the Lords of the Congrega-
tion, and set the Reformation at defiance ! Then poor
Queen Mary came across Spey, and left the interest which
attaches to every place where she set her foot. Her
brother, " the good Regent," was your Earl, but he had
little time for his own affairs, and I don't find him much
in Moray. Not so his widow, Annas Keith (daughter of
Keith Marshall). While she managed the affairs of her
daughters, even after her second marriage to Argyll, she
was often here — dwelling at Darnaway, or at Elgin —
keeping up great state, but kindly and neighbourly with
the gentry around. Still, later down, in the days of th&
12 THE WEST PORT, ELGIN.
Covenant, the Moray barons were active on the Covenant
side, with the successive lairds of Innes at their head.
But all that I must pass, and must carry you with me, if
I may, down to later scenes.
Most of you know that I am more than half an Elgin
man myself! My grandfather lived at the West Port,
now called West Park* My father was born there, and
always assured me, I am sure quite honestly, that the
nectarines and apricoks (he spelt the word with a k, not
in the modern way), on the open wall there, were better
than any that grew elsewhere. Most of my old Moray-
shire knowledge is from my father, who lived to be an
old man, and the reports of his recollections enables me
to speak of more than a century. He inherited some
lands to the east of the town, and I well remember his
description of the yearly scouring of the deep ditches, and
the care that required to be taken of the embankments of
the Lossie. He told me of the fresh-water mussels that
sometimes yielded pearls — of the fat eels, which the poorest
labourers refused to eat — (perhaps they know better now.)
He told me that the Highlanders who came down in
* West Park is now the property of the Hon. Lewis A.
Grant, youngest son of the late Francis William, Earl of
Seafield, who changed the Entrance to the Grounds and
greatly improved the House.
It was here where the WEST PORT of the Burgh stood, and
where the heads, arms, &c., of felons were spiked.
Andrew M'Pherson, a Deserter, was the last Culprit who
was thus served, for the Murder of John Gatherer, Farmer,
Netherbyre, Pluscarden, in 1713.
The West Port stood right across the High Street near the
kitchen-gate of West Park. Francis Russell, Advocate, finding
this old Entrance to the City to be in his way, pulled it down
one night or morning in Oct. 1783, and built his Park walls
with the stones. For this unwarrantable act the Magistrates
and Council resolved to prosecute their Ruling Elder before
the Court of Justiciary along with the workmen he employed.
In 1785 the dispute was hushed up, and the West Port was
irrevocable. At this period, a line of boulders, called "the
croun of the causeway," extended from the West Port to the
Little Cross, upon which the people walked in wet weather.
There were no drains but open gutters, with every deposit
unveiled to eye and nose. (ED.)
COSMO INNES* FORBEARIS. 13
bands to shear his harvest at Leuchars and Dunkinty,
used generally to take home with them a shaking ague
from the marshy land. When I told that to my friend,
Dr. Simpson of Edinburgh, he said, " Ah, we have driven
out the ague ! That is one of the diseases we have eradi-
cated. There is no intermittent fever now in Scotland."
If it be so — with all deference for Dr. Simpson — with all
honour to his noble profession — I must say we owe that
victory more to the farmer with his draining tiles than to
the doctor with his quinine.
My father had a proverb — is it still current among
you ? — " Speak weel o' the Hielands, but live in the
laigh ! " He had a very confident opinion of the superi-
ority of the Climate and Soil of Moray, to anything else
in all the world ; and when he had migrated to a half-
Highland Estate on Deeside, he used to deplore the early
frosts that mildewed his barley on the haughs, and cut
down the autumn growth of his young oaks by the burn
side, before the wood was ripened. Some of his young
experience serves to illustrate the change of manners.
My grandfather had many transactions with the then
Gordon of Cluny, which produced some intimacy between
the families. Cosmo Gordon, the eldest son, the heir of a
good fortune, was bred to the Bar, and lived to be a Baron,
of Ex chequer. Charles, the second, was a Writer to the
Signet, in Edinburgh, and took my father as apprentice
in his office. Notwithstanding some difference of age, the
young men were great friends ; and, several seasons, Cosmo
Gordon, the young councillor, and John I unes, the appren-
tice, travelled to Edinburgh in company. Both rode the
journey on horseback, as all men did — but " with a differ-
ence." The advocate and heir-apparent of Cluny, rode
his own horse, and his groom followed, mounted on
another. My father rode a horse, hired from a stable in
Elgin, which carried him and his saddle-bags, in five or
six days to Kinghorn; and a bare-footed boy (the stabler's
servant), ran at his foot, to care for the beast, and to take
him back from the Ferry. That was more common than
" riding post," and was esteemed safer — the post-horse
of the stages having an indifferent character for sound-
ness. The road was by Huntly — " the Sowie " — Alford —
Cutties-hillock — the Cairn-o'-month — and so forth. Plea-
sant journeys, believe me, they were, for two young men
14 THE PANS PORT; THE MANSION OF MORIESTON.
with life opening before them ! and my informant never
lost his love for the primitive rural hostelry, where
country luxuries were so good, and the known hostess
received you with a familiar, almost motherly welcome.
From my remembrance of my father's conversation, and
from a great mass of my grandfather's letters ; from Mr.
Robert Young's notes — (helped by some Papers which
my friend Captain Dunbar has dug out of the Charter-
Room at Duffus) — I will try to describe Elgin and its
Neighbourhood, the Town and the Country, in the begin-
ning of last Century, say 150 years ago. And first,
Join me in a walk from end to end of your Town, and
I will try to represent it as it stood in the beginning of
last Century — only 150 years ago! Leaving Gray's
Hospital behind us, we enter old Elgin by the West Port,
under an arch or port, like that still preserved at the
Pans Port* Adjoining to that Gateway, on the south
side of the street, was the house of my grandfather,
Robert Innes, styling himself merchant in Elgin. It
stood on a large and very good garden, quite retired from
the noise of the street — a comfortable old mansion, I
-assure you. I could tell you some stories of its hospi-
tality, and of the claret drunk there, but I must pass on.
I believe the Hon. Lewis Grant, the present proprietor,
wished to keep up the old House, but the walls were
found too much decayed to be saved.
Nearly opposite, reposing at the foot of " the bonny
Lady -hill," stood the Mansion of the Martins of Mories-
town — a warm, sheltered, sunny spot. The family was
of good estimation, but they and their House have alike
passed away.
Still on the north side of the street, a little to the east
* The Eastern Gate, called THE WATER-GATE, or Paun's or
PANS PORT, or Bishop's Gate, still stands at the north-east corner
of South College. The meadow-land lying east of PANNS PORT
is termed " Pannis " in the oldest deeds, and seems to be an
abbreviation of Pannagium, a meadow or pasture land.
A 'venerable beech tree, having large trunk and venerable
branches, probably planted by some now unknown ecclesiastic,
still adorns these precincts. This PORT had an iron Portcullis,
the groove for which is still to be seen. In 1857, the trustees
of the Earl of Fife substantially repaired this only remaining
original entrance to the Cathedral. (ED.)
ELCHIES HOUSE; THUNDERTON HOUSE. 15
of Murdoch's Wynd, an old Jialf ruinous House is still
standing, which has seen better days. Of old, it belonged
to the Dunbars of Billhead, then to James Stephen, Pro-
vost of Elgin, who married a daughter of Sir Harry Innes
of Innes, latterly to a Family of Duffus, who still pos-
sess it.
On the south side of the street — on the site of the
Caledonian Bank Office — stood a fine old Mansion, built
on squat pillars and arches, known to most of you as
"Elchies House."* It was built about 1670 by George
Gumming, Provost of Elgin, or William Gumming of
Achry, his son, who dwelt there at the time we are
examining. From him it passed to the first William
King of Newmill, who married Margaret Gumming, the
Provost's daughter, and it was only at the close of last
century that it passed from the Newmill family to Robert
Grant of Elchies, who added a couple of handsome rooms,
and, I suppose, gave it the name of " Elchies House."
Later, it was Miss Shand's boarding-school, and, last of
all, it made way for the bank. I think there are several
views of it engraved.
On the same side of the street, a little to the eastward,
stood the Mansion which was latterly known as Thun-
derton House. It was the town-residence of the Earls of
Moray, after the Castle on Lady-hill was disused and
ruined, and earlier, perhaps, of the hereditary Sheriffs —
the Dunbars of Westfield. It passed into the possession
of the Lords DufFus in 1653, but they fell into poverty
long before their forfeiture, and this Mansion passed from
them to the Dunbars of Newton and Northfield, now of
Duffus. It was a very fine specimen of town-house, and
partook of the ornaments of several periods. The old
part of the building which still stands was built, I sup-
pose, by the Earls ; the western front, with its fine balus-
traded tower — the balusters in shape of their names,
"Sutherland" — by the Lords Duffus. The rooms were
large, and the cornices and ceilings much ornamented.
One cornice still remains. In the gardens were included
orchards and a bowling green — one of the luxuries of our
rather laz}? ancestors. When the body of the first Duke
of Gordon (who died at Leith in 1716) was brought down
* This House had open piazzas, which were common during
the 17th century. (ED.)
16 BRODIE OF ARNHALL ; LADY ARRADOUL.
to be buried in the Cathedral here, his son, Duke Alex-
ander, borrowed Thunderton House, as the one in Elgin
most suitable for the ceremonial of his interment — in-
cluding, no doubt, the funeral banquet — and prayed the
Lady Thunderton to take some trouble in arranging the
solemn hospitalities. At the close, of last century the
house was occupied by Alexander Brodie, Esq., of Arn-
hall, father of Elizabeth [and wherein Her Grace was
born] the Duchess of Gordon, who lived in great style,
and had a large establishment, with horses and hounds ;
but the fine old House, like everything old and venerable
in Elgin, was doomed. In 1800, the late Sir Archibald
Dunbar sold the property to John Batchen. It has since
been a Haldanite Church, a furniture wareroom,a preaching
station, and a windmill ! The curious balustraded tower
was then pulled down ; and it requires careful inspection
now, among the mean and crowded lanes that press upon
it, to distinguish the ciphers and heraldic bearings of the
Earls, Sheriffs, and Lords, that once dwelt there.
The Chapel, built in its garden, is the same which went
through such a brilliant career of occupants, and at last
blazed off in such a bright final conflagration, last year.*
On the opposite side of the High Street — at the top of
what is now North Street — stood a stately old mansion,
Calder House, with turrets to the street, the property of
successive generations of the Calders, Baronets of Muir-
town. When they went down, the house and large
garden, reaching back to where the Episcopal Chapel now
is, became the property of Lawrence Sutherland of Green-
*Capt. Dunbar-Dunbar, in his interesting "Social Life in
Former Days." p. 282, says : — " It was, we believe, originally
known as the King's House. In 1601, it belonged to the three
daughters of the deceased James Dunbar of Westfield (as heirs
of their father and of their great grandfather, Sir Alex. Dunbar,
Sheriff of Moray), and was designated the Sheriff's Home.
At the back entrance were two savages cut in stone, which
were removed to the Priory of Pluscarden, where they now are.
In the spring of 1746, a few weeks before the Battle of
Culloden. "Prince Charlie" slept several nights at this Man-
sion, at that time inhabited by Lady Arradoul, eldest daughter
of Dunbar of Thunderton, who was shrouded and buried in the
sheets which the Prince slept in, according to her dying orders.
(ED.)
THE ASSEMBLY EOOMS ; CALDER HOUSE. 17
hall, and, in the latter part of last century, was occupied
by the famous Dr. Alex. Dougall.*
Adjoining it, where the North of Scotland Bank now
stands, stood Di^ummuir House — a large edifice on low
pillars and arcades, after the approved Elgin manner. It
came through Dunbars, Kings, Sir Archibald Campbell of
Clunes (a man well known at Cawdor), to Robert Duff of
Drummuir, who married Sir Archibald's daughter Isabella.
Then it was sold to the Trades of Elgin. Last of all to
one of the numerous banks that now adorn our streets,
and I hope, " Scatter plenty o'er the smiling land."
On the same side was a House which was built about
the year 1619 [1669 ?], and belonged for about a century
to a Family of Donaldson.^ It then passed through the
hands of Kenneth Mackenzie, surgeon-apothecary, a well-
known man in his day, and some Dunbars, Duffs, and
* The Assembly Rooms, chiefly erected by the Trinity Lodge
of Freemasons in 1821, at a cost of £3000, occupy the site of
Colder House. The only remnants of it preserved are the two
carved door-posts in the grounds of William Young, Lady-
hill. This House, after it had ceased to be habitable, long
remained as a desolate ruin, and had the reputation of being
haunted. As often as the unsatiable desire of urchins led
them to enter its portals and advance a few steps up the
narrow stair, have their hearts fainted, as some gush of wind
coming in hollow sough, arrested their course, and compelled
them to retreat ere they had dared to peep into the dark
kitchen. Here, it was believed, a boiling cauldron was con-
stantly on the fire, and an arm-chair before it, to entice the
wayfarer ; when, no sooner had he sat down, than some invisi-
ble machinery tilted up the chair and threw the occupant into
the enticing broth-pot. In another chamber, the apparition of
Nelly Homeless was heard to patter patter up the long winding
dark stair, give three knocks at the door, and unforbidden enter
with grim unearthly look, with great gash in her breast, imploring
back again her lichts and liver, before she could get rest in her
lonely grave. Medical practitioners then got the repute of
doing sad things to the dead in nightly and secret labours.
Colder House is said to have been built in 1669.
t Donaldson's House, now down, and the site occupied by
shops, had a bartizan on the top ; and stones still kept, bear
J. D. J. M. 1699, i.e., James Donaldson and his spouse Jean
Mackean. In Lossie Wynd, within a Court, there is, on a
large mantelpiece, built by the same, J. D. J. M. 1689. (ED.)
VOL. II. 2
18 ISAAC FORSYTE ; ELGIN STREET ARCHITECTURE.
Ritchies. It has never been a great Mansion, but as it
now stands, is the prettiest of the old Elgin Houses they
have left us.
Next, we come to a House with a stair tower, marked
repeatedly with the date of 1634 and the arms of Leslie
of Rothes, and distinguished by the Iron Cross at the
top, which marks the houses held under the Knights of
St. John. The old titles are lost, and I cannot tell you
what Leslies dwelt there in 1700 (the time we are trying
to look back upon). Alexander Forsyth, merchant in
Elgin, bought it in 1744. I have lately heard that he
was a personal friend, at any rate, an admirer, of Dr.
Isaac Watts, the great English non-conformist divine, and
named his son after him. We all knew and loved Isaac
Forsyth* the late possessor of that quaint old edifice, and
many of you can remember when he had a bookselling
shop there, where he established a library, issued several
excellent works of local history, and made it the centre
of literature for the city and county. That venerable old
man would have loved to help me in my present under-
taking.
Mr. Billings gives an admirable Plate of " street archi-
tecture at Elgin " : — When the wanderer has entered the
town itself, he will find himself surrounded by objects
that might occupy his pencil or his pen for weeks.
Besides the grand mass of the Cathedral, and the clus-
tered castellated remains of its Close, every street and
turning presents some curious quaint architectural peculi-
arity, from the graceful gothic arches of the Maison Dieu
to the old grey burgher's house, sticking its narrow crow-
stepped gable, and all its fantastic, irregular, blinking
little windows, into the centre of the street. Many
decorated niches, let in to abrupt corners, now tenantless,
mark the spots where once stood the image of the Virgin
and the lamp, to arrest the notice of the passer-by; an
indication of the great antiquity of the street architecture
of Elgin. In many cases the houses are ranged in the
old French manner, round square court-yards communi-
* Isaac Forsyth died on the 17th May, 1859, set. 90. He
bought the property from his niece, Ann Forsyth, wife of
Adam Longmore of the Exchequer, Edinburgh.
A slater, in his wisdom, tore up the Jerusalem Cross as being
an encumbrance, when repairing the roof. (ED.)
CHARACTERISTIC OF THE STREETS OF ELGIN. 19
eating with the street by low heavy-browed arches. A
large number of the houses are supported on colonnades,
the designs of which have considerable merit, especially
in that character of massiveness which seems to adapt the
pillar and arch to bear the superincumbent weight. From
this feature, some of the streets of Elgin remind one of
those of Berne ; but they are still more quaint, fantastic,
and venerable looking than those of the gloomy Swiss city.
Never having had either manufactures or trade, Elgin has
changed little in the course of a century or two ; while, as
the centre of a rich agricultural district, with its clubs
and county meetings, it has had enough of vitality to
save it from total decay by the removal of its ecclesiastical
honours. It is inhabited by a considerable number of
people with good connexions and small incomes, who
naturally surround themselves with the attributes of
modest elegance and comfort. (The Baronial and Eccle-
siastical Antiquities of Scotland, by Robert William
Billings, Architect, vol. II.).
This includes Isaac Forsytes tower, and a picturesque
old house on piazzas, which has been removed since the
date of that work — such is the rapid pace of demolition
among you ! That House belonged successively to Cra-
monds, Mills, Captain Peter Innes, Charleses, Hay of
Edintore, and lastly to Mr. Anderson, who pulled it
down, and has built a very fine new house and shop on
the site.
A little to the eastward, a large old House still stands,
covered with grey slates, once the property of Thomas
Stephen, Provost of Elgin, with whose daughter it passed
to Miln of Milnfield.
Now, cross Lossie Wynd, and, still keeping the north
side of the High Street, at the corner stood a fine old
House with a double roof and a bartizan. The property
of old extended from the High Street to the back of the
burgh at the north, the northern part being a fine garden.
Very early, it belonged to Annand of Morriston; then,
before 1600, to Alexander Innes of Coxton. Near a cen-
tury later (1669) Sir Alexander Innes of Coxton, with
consent of George Innes, minister of Premriay, disponed
it to James Donaldson, merchant^a.ncestor of the respect-
able family who took their style from the pretty little
Estate of Kmiicairdy on the Dovern. The last laird of
20 OUR LADY HIGH HOUSE.
that family married Anne Innes, daughter of Sir James
of Coxton (1777), who lived to be old, and is yet remembered
as a perfect specimen of a stately lady of the old school.
Over the way, on the site of the present Court House*
stood the House of the Family of Anderson of Linkwood,
a race of most respectable burghers — lawyers — sheriff-
clerks — commissary clerks — often provosts of the burgh
— the first of whom was in the employment of the famous
Sir George Mackenzie, King's Advocate in the reign of
Charles II., who gave him some lands in Pluscarden.
Passing by the House with the mysterious and unex-
plained name of" Lady High House," -f we come on the
north side of the street, to an old House originally built
on arcades, just opposite the Little Cross. It was occupied
as a place of business by William Duff of Dipple, father of
William first Earl of Fife. The late Mr. William Young
used to report the tradition that, while carrying on busi-
ness here, Dipple bought the Estate of Coxton at what
people ignorantly thought a very high price — so high
that the Knight of Coxton celebrated the event by an
entertainment which was not temperate, and very noisy,
Dipple, in the evening, as he was shutting up his office,
heard the noise of the riotous feast, and asked the cause.
They told him it was Coxton rejoicing with his friends
at the price he had got for his land. " Poor fellow ! "
said Dipple, "he is as well pleased at parting with his
inheritance as I am at getting it." William Duff of
Dipple died in 1722.
* The Court House and Jail were erected in 1842. Elizabeth,
the last Duchess of Gordon, heired it through her aunts, and
sold it to the Magistrates of Elgin for the above uses. (ED.)
t Our Lady High House suggests its dedication to the B. V.
Mary. In 1546, Sir Thomas Ragg was one of the chaplains in
S. Giles, and also taught a school in this house. This same
year the Murrays of Fochaberis, by deed disponed it to James
Innes of Crombie. From 1770 till 1812 it was possessed by
the Andersons of Linkwood, who sold it to Alexander Brodie
of Arnhall, and was occupied by his sisters, the Misses Brodie
of Spynie. Elizabeth, the last Duchess of Gordon (the only
child of Brodie of Arnhall), heired this house after the death of
her aunts, and in 1835 sold the subjects to Provost Grant, who,
in 1 840, sold them to Provost Kussell, who erected on the site
buildings for a printing office and abode. (ED.)
DUNKINTY HOUSE; OLD COLLEGE ABODES. 21
I am sorry I must not detain you with an account of
that most worthy family of your citizens, the Kings of
Newmill, who acquired the Greyfriars, many canons'
crofts, the lands of Newmill, and Pans, and were peculi-
arly an Elgin burgh family, and an honour to the burgh.
The Huntly Family had a residence in Elgin, at the
head of the College, not now to be traced. My ancestors,
the Innesses of Dunkinty, lived in that old House which
stood till lately at the corner of Grant Lodge gardens.
You know it in Mr. Khind's " Sketches of Moray." After
my forebears succeeded to Leuchars, it was uninhabited,
and it was rather ruinous even before it was acquired by
the Seafield Family, who pulled it down a few years ago.
I used to admire the gables of the dormer windows, deco-
rated with coats of arms, the remains of the old hangings
of stamped Spanish leather, and the little concealed ora-
tory, where the family, zealous Non-jurors, could keep their
service-books and say their prayers in times of trouble.
The entrance was from the west, at the end of the Gardens
of Elgin, entering at the foot of Lossie Wynd.
At the beginning of last century the interesting old
College Dwellings had of course all passed into lay hands.
The Bishop's Town Palace — the work of that great archi-
tect the Chancellor Lord Dunfermline — was then in the
Gordon Family.
The North College — the house standing where the Dean's
residence was, and preserving some of its walls — includes
in its gardens and grounds the residences or manses of
the canons of Botarie, Inverkeithny, the Treasurer's,
Croy, the Chancellor's — as well as the Deanery. It was
for a time the town house of the Dunbars of Burgie, and
was acquired by the Family of Robertson, its present
proprietors, about a century ago. The lands of Deans-
haugh, with the Dovecot, were of old attached to the
Deanery, and the Lossie, which now separates them,
seems to have run much to the north of its present
channel.
[The Manse of Duffus, as old as the 15th century, in
the College of Elgin, was pulled down about 48 years ago.
A good sketch of the quaint house, with corner square
turret, is given in Rhind's Sketches of Moray. It stood
on the east corner of King Street. King James II. found
lodging for himself and small court in this little mansion.
22 DUFFUS AND UNTHANK MANSES ; SUBDEAN'S HOUSE.
His kinsman David Stuart (then Parson of Duffus, and
afterwards Bishop of Moray), was absent at the time on
some embassy, when the kitchen of the Manse accidentally
took fire, and was re-built at the King's expense. The
house was long the possession of the Family of King of
Newmill, then of Captain Stewart, who sold it to Peter
Brown of Linkwood, who built on the stance the abode,
now the property of John Allan.
Equally good etchings of Unthank Manse, Mantelpiece,
and Arms of the Duffus Family quartered on the Manse,
are given in Rhind's Sketches. On the mantelpiece in
large figures, is the date ]679 (not 1670 as given in
Young's Annals of Elgin, page 395), with the initials
W B. I O on either side, and fierce erect Lion-Sup-
porters. These fine jambs are now at one of the garden-
gates at Gordonstown House.
Unthank Manse was also purchased by the above Mr.
Peter Brown, who built thereupon the domicile occupied
by John Kerr, Inspector of Schools, and now possessed
by Mrs. M'William.] (ED.)
The Sub-dean's House is that inherited by the Hon. G.
S. Duff, from the Hon. George Duff of Milton, son of
Wiliam, first Earl of Fife. None of the original building
remains, but the massy precinct wall of the Cathedral
runs to the south of the garden; and with its fine old
trees, it formed the pleasant quiet residence which Charles
St. John so much loved. All that we call King Street
was occupied by the residences and gardens of the Canons
of old. Duffus Manse, the picturesque old Mansion where
King James II. kept his court, is now Mr. Allan's ; Un-
thank Manse, Sheriff Cameron's. A hundred and fifty
years ago, these and many other mansions of good
burghers — of country gentry of Moray and Banff — lined
your High Street on both sides — affording covered walks
almost from end to end, with their low arcades or
"piazzas." The foot pavement did not then project into
the street, and perhaps the " causey " was not so clean in
its every-day state as it is now. But on days of state or
holidays, and, of old, on occasions of Church-processions,
a great cleansing and ornamenting took place. Then
think how the centre of the spacious street was occupied,
at the time of our visit — the beginning of last century.
First — and just on the site of the modern fountain —
THE MUCKLE AND LITTLE KIRKS AND CROSSES. 23
stood, during all last century, the Jail and Burgh Court-
House. It was built only about the beginning of the
century, in room of a former and more humble Tolbooth.
There was not much architectural merit in the fabric, but
it was quaint and characteristic.
Next there was the " Muckle Kirk" — the venerable
and most ancient Church of St. Giles — the Parish Church
of Elgin; a place so ancient, so venerable, so mixed up
with the history and tradition of the city, that one might
have expected it to have been spared, if anything were to
remain of old Elgin. It stood just where the new Church
stands; and of old was surrounded by its cemetery, in
which among later graves must have stood the elaborate
Monument of primeval Christianity, now placed for safety
in the Cathedral, which was found in levelling the street
near the Church. Probably only the lower walls of the
Muckle Kirk were of high antiquity. The roof and the
upper part of the fabric fell in 1679, on a Sunday, after
service ; but it was re-built somewhat in the old manner,
and so continued till 1828. Do the Bailies and the
" Trades " fill the eye as well in their fine new Church
as when dear William Hay sang of their glories in that
ghostly old fabric ?
The " Little Kirk," though separated, and made of late
to open eastward, was originally the Choir of the great
Church of St. Giles.
Where you may still see the paving stones of the street
laid in the form of a cross, stood the "Muckle Cross"
What its ancient form and structure were, we do not
know. That which stood there all last century was a
hexagonal Pillar of dressed ashlar; 12 feet high, and large
enough to contain a spiral stair. Around its base was a
stone seat. From the top of the pillar rose a shaft of
stone, surmounted by the Scotch Lion Rampant, and the
initials (C. R.) of King Charles II.
The Little Cross, I suppose, is not much changed in a
century and a half. It is one of that kind of which we
have finer specimens at Kinneddar, at Duffus, and other
Moray Churches; but from its situation, this of Elgin
is liable to injuries, and the shaft may have been re-
newed.
[The Muckle Cross was removed about 86 years ago for
being an obstruction. It was a poor specimen of archi-
24 THE LITTLE CROSS AND HOUSE NEAR IT.
tecture, consisting of a small hexagonal roofless apartment
in which the loons used to stow sticks and other collec-
tions for the annual bonfire on the King's Birthday. This
chamber was carefully guarded with an oak door. A
freestone column similar to that of the Little Cross shot
up from the centre, surmounted with the Scottish lion
rampant with crown and cross. The latter is placed on
the South College garden wall.
The Little Cross still remains entire in its original posi-
tion. It has four circular steps or pediments, from which
rises a round slender Ionic Monolith about 15 feet high,
topped by a sun dial, upon which is cut the arms of the
city. The summit has three small iron rods, one perpen-
dicular and two crossways, indicating the four points of
the compass. A correct etching is given in Rhind's
Sketches of Moray, p. 57. Alexander, 3rd son of the
Lord of the Isles, with his captains, on the 3rd July,
1402, plundered the Chanonry of Elgin : and on the 6th
Oct., the same year, on due contrition, was absolved by
William Spynie, Bishop of Moray, before the doors of the
Church, and then before the High Altar. He and his
troopers also paid as penance a sum of money, with part
of which a Cross was erected where the Chanonry begins.
This is reckoned to be where the Little Cross stands and
has stood for nearly 800 years — not certainly the present
superstructure. From the Town Council Minutes of the
1st April, 1867, the Little Cross being in a ruinous and
dilapidated state, and threatening to fall, was ordered to
be repaired.
In the Burgh Records of 1542, there is a reference to a
Cross at the east end of the town, but as it is there called
a tree, it was necessarily of wood.
In Rhind's Sketches, an etching is given at page 57 of a
House near the Little Cross of the old burgh architecture,
yet in good preservation, erected on piazzas. The original
possessors are not known. It bears the date 1694, and
the initials I. D. above the windows. It is said that it
was occupied as a place of business by William Duff of
Dipple, father of William 1st Earl of Fife, when he resided
in Elgin from 1703 to 1722, at which latter date he died.
It is a fact that Mr. Duff had a mortgage upon it for 800
merks between 1709 and 1716. It afterwards passed to
the family of Anderson of Linkwood, and from them, in
THE CATHEDRAL AND MONASTIC FOUNDATIONS 25
1769, to Patrick Duff, Town Clerk of Elgin, grandfather
of the late Town Clerk. He was called Little Clerk
Duff, in contradistinction to Archibald Duff of Bilbohall,
who was called the Muckle Clerk. At a time of political
excitement, a bullet was fired in at the middle window,
and struck the wall of the apartment near the bed where
the Little Clerk and his wife were lying. From the
Duffs, the house was transferred to Sir James Grant of
Grant.] (ED.)
I pray you not to be alarmed when I mention the Cathe-
dral. I have no intention of inflicting an .archaeological
treatise upon you. Just one word of explanation. You
know that the early Bishops of Moray had no fixed seat,
making their Cathedral sometimes at Birnie (where much
of their structure of the 12th century still remains), some-
times at Spynie or Kinneddar. But at length, in 1224,
Bishop Andrew de Moravia settled his Episcopal See per-
manently at the Church of the Holy Trinity beside Elgin.
That little primeval Church quite disappeared, and the
existing Cathedral may be safely said to date from that
year. No doubt the Cathedral was burnt by the Wolf of
Badenoch in 1390, and perhaps suffered by fire again in
1402, when another noble Savage spoiled, burnt, and
plundered a great part of the town and canonry. But I
would have you know that burning of a Church or Castle
in those times did not imply a destruction to the founda-
tion. Most commonly the massive walls resisted the
hurried scorching of the spoiler, and certainly this was so
in Elgin. The architecture proves it beyond any ques-
tion. And then those old churchmen made their repairs
with such taste and feeling — refusing none of the im-
provements of their own day, but adapting their new
work to the original style, so that the very changes which
a skilled eye detects in the periods of architecture are
considered, and really are, beauties.
I must not pass by without noticing the Monastic
Foundations of which some vestiges remain.
The Dominicans or Black-friars, or Friars Preachers,
had a House founded by King Alexander II., about 1233,
which stood in a field called Borrowbriggs, now scarcely
to be traced, owing to the changing of the bed of Lossie.
It was not far from our friend Mr. Grigor's house,
at the Haugh. The place no doubt inherits its hospi-
26 THE GREYFRIARS' MONASTERY, ELGIN.
tality, as well as its beautiful flowers, from the old
Friars !
There was a Convent of Franciscans, Minorites, or
Grey Friars, at Elgin, endowed as early as 1281, when it
is described as "near the Cathedral church." Could
that be the place which we know as the Greyfriars, or
is this a later foundation? The architecture of that
beautiful Ruin is plainly of the 15th century. It has
been supposed that the older House — that described as
" near the Cathedral church " — occupied the site of Mr.
Cooper's house and garden, where some ancient founda-
tions and vaults below, were visible until lately.
I think there were no Nunneries in Elgin.
The society of Elgin was very different at the beginning
of last century from what it is now. You observe, a good
many country families lived in the town, some preferring
it to their country homes — at least in winter ; others, like
the Laird of Dunkinty, having no dwelling-houses on
their estates. The last Dunkinty who inhabited that old
house close to the North College, was one of the last sur-
vivors of that society. Though he was my granduncle —
and there is said to be a family resemblance — I beg to
state that he was a very good-looking old gentleman.
His picture hangs in my dining-room, in full powdered
wig and chapeau bras. You know it is a small property,
for he did not live to inherit Leuchars ; but the old man
drove about the town, and out to Calcotts, in his coach
and pair, chiefly to prove his gentility. I think when I
came here as Sheriff, my friend, Mr. Cameron, showed me
the old Dunkinty coach, with its once splendid gilt
nails and corners, converted into a summer house in an
inn garden.
Among all that class there was a good deal of society —
a very genuine, hearty hospitality — a kindly welcome — a
full table, and at least enough of that wine which was to
be had pretty cheap, paying no odious duties. But to
tell the truth, the great enjoyment of the gentry at that
time was not in domestic parties. When men found their
days tedious, and longed for something to stir the blood,
they did not assemble their friends at the board of a
stately dame, with lappets, and hoop, and high-heeled
shoes. They met at a tavern — the British A rms, or Mrs.
Crombie's — and drank till the cares and sorrows of life
SOCIETY AT THE BEGINNING OF LAST CENTUKY. 27
were forgotten. Or, if they were not fortunate enough
to be in Elgin, half a dozen neighbour gentlemen would
make a tryst at Findhorn, or still oftener at the little
solitary alehouse on the Muir, where Lucky Lightfoot
supplied them with pure, cheap claret (it might well be
cheap !) and where the want of ceremony and the homeli-
ness of everything around, gave it a zest which it wanted
in their own castles. You must not imagine they were
habitual drunkards, or even in the habit of drinking a
glass of wine daily. The men were fine gentlemen, I
assure you, though the young fellows swore a little,
bragged a little of their five bottles at a sitting, and
other peccadilloes which we think better to hide. Some
of the pictures of our forefathers of that time show a
quantity of lace at breast and wrist — a powdering of
periwig, and smart cock of hat — that must have rendered
it horribly inconvenient to be caught out in such a gale
as blew down our valley on the 3rd of this month. The
expense of that dress was monstrous. Sir Richard Steele's
black periwig, we know, cost him forty guineas, and to
maintain such a head-piece in curl and beauty was no
trifle. Do you remember the elegant Lovelace (the lady-
killer of Richardson's imagination) lamenting his wig and
his linen dabbled with hoar-frost when he had been ex-
posed to the cold in keeping an assignation ?
The rich and somewhat tawdry dress of the men was
the folly of the time — not of the country. I only wish
you to observe that our ancestors in the North were not
exempt from the fashionable follies of their day. Indeed,
I don't find that they were much addicted to out-door
occupations. I find no letters of enthusiastic farming and
planting, no passion for sport, no fishing, and very little
of shooting — only a grey-hound or two were kept about
a house for killing hares, and frequently lent from hand
to hand. You will find that the men then were less
accustomed to that hardy exercise which begins with us
at school, and lasts as long as health and strength will
allow.
The ladies were more stay-at-home than their grand-
daughters; many of them, ladies of quality or fortune,
never left Moray after returning from the boarding-school
in Edinburgh. They were not for the most part accom-
plished, in our sense of the word. A slender knowledge
28 MORAYSHIRE LADIES OF LAST CENTURY.
of music, playing on the harpsichord or the viol-de-gamba,
and a sort of sampler embroidery — not so conveniently
easy as our modern ladies' work — formed the whole.
They went to church, or to the Non-Juring Chapel, but
were not much addicted to theological study — the age for
that had gone by. They didn't read much ; indeed, books
were very few, and the taste for them confined to two or
three families. But then they were notable housewives
— the Countess of Moray and the Lady of Gordon Castle
vieing with the Squires' wives in the mysteries of the
kitchen and the comforts of good housekeeping.*
* I can call to mind a good many ladies of Moray who made
an impression on society in their time, and have left a memory
behind them : —
1. ANNAS KEITH, Countess of Moray and Argyll, who filled
a large sphere in this county for a time, managing the proper-
ties of both earldoms. Her house at Darnaway, and her
"lodging" in Edinburgh, were resorted to as a little court by
Moray men, by all of whom she was beloved for her own
qualities of masculine sense and kindness, and revered as the
wife and widow of the " Good Regent."
2. HENRIETTA STUART, daughter of the Earl of Moray, wife
of Sir Hugh Campbell of Cawdor, was a notable housekeeper
and careful economist, learned in the qualities of tea and
chocolate, and of great taste in "napery." She was long
remembered as a good neighbour and amiable lady. Her
books were a thought too Puritanical for the present taste ;
but among " Sighs from Hell," and " Rutherford's Letters," are
placed " Hodder's Arithmetic," and " Speed's Husbandry,"
together with a treatise on " Psalmistry."
3. The Mordaunt DUCHESS OF GORDON, wife of the second
Duke, who changed the religion of the family fen- a consideration
— and, during a long widowhood, managed her affairs and
those of her children with great vigilance and the skill of a
man of business, and yet was a universal favourite.
4. MARY SLEIGH, was the English wife of the Laird of
Brodie — the laird who was long Lord Lyon, and was univer-
sally known in Scotland as " The Lyon " — a very popular lead-
ing man in Moray, though Lord Lovat, who didn't love him,
called him the "king of beasts." I imagine his wife was an
heiress. At any rate she was allowed to manage and spend
liberally. She attended to farming as well as housewifery, and
directed, herself, the breeding of her horses, &c. She was
also an early planter of hardwood. I have noticed a present
MRS. ROSE OF KILRAVOCK ; THE QUEEN OF FORRES. 29
I don't find that the ladies attended to the garden or
cared for flowers. The only exception I can name is
Kilravock. But the gentlemen in and round Elgin, and
indeed all through Moray, were fond of gardening, and
we must not censure them if in their eyes the fruit-
garden and the orchard took precedence of the flower-
border. They inherited that taste from the Monks of
Pluscarden and Kinloss, who may have admired a clove-
gilly flower, but gave their whole hearts to the produce
of their pear trees.
It may be worth recording that the excellent Robert
she made to the Laird of Kilravock, in 1750, of fifty beech
plants — probably those which now adorn " the birch-ward " at
Kilravock, and the charming bank of Coulmony. The tradition
of the country is, that she was the great planter and ornamenter
of Brodie; and, moreover, that she planted (and protected)
that double hedgerow of ashes which still, at intervals, shades
the high road from the Hardmuir to Torres. I wish she had
left more imitators.
5. Mrs. ELIZABETH ROSE of Kilravock, a lady admirable in
more ways than I can find room for in this note. She was the
first very literary lady in the North, but her literature was not
her greatest recommendation. In conversation she was always
animated and natural, full of genuine humour, and keen and
quick perception of the ludicrous. She has been described as
the leader of all cheerful amusements, the humorous story-
teller, the clever mimic, the very soul of society. She was a
good musician, and very fond of music. Those were her surface
accomplishments. She was the most ardent of friends, bene-
volent, hospitable, kind and generous beyond her means,
zealously religious, without parade, ever anxious to help forward
humble talent.
6. If it were not too near her own time, I should like to
place here a memorial of Miss MADDY MACPHERSON, the
" Queen of Forres," as she was called. I do not think she has
left so good and characteristic a specimen of the Highland lady
behind her. Without any superfluous education, she had a
consciousness of Highland gentry — never found herself unfit
for the society of the highest and most cultivated. Her know-
ledge of her countrymen was very accurate, and she communi-
cated it in the pleasantest way. With good broad humour,
and a play of satire quite free from malice, she made her
drawing-room a pleasant place of resort for all comers, while to
her friends she was ever hospitable, kind, and cordial.
30 GARDENING AND THE GARDENS OF KINLOSS.
Reid, Abbot of Kinloss, afterwards Bishop of Orkney,
among other schemes for civilising his house, brought to
Kinloss from Dieppe a French gardener, named Guillaume
Lubias, very skilful in planting and grafting fruit-trees,
who, writes the chronicler of the Abbey, " executed many
works in the Abbey garden and round the place, and
indeed through all Moray, most useful and worthy of
observation." I have heard from that authority, which I
have quoted so often, that when, 100 years ago, the last
of the old pear trees of Kinloss were blown down in a
storm, it was found that they had been under-paved with
flat flag-stones, after the most approved manner of modern
orchard cultivation — a manner which we moderns, with
our usual vanity, had declared to be an invention unknown
to the old gardeners. Some papers at Kilravock show
that the makers of that good old garden got some of their
trees from Kinloss, while the finer kinds came from
Normandy.
The gardens of Kinloss, (the nursery of gardening, and
teacher to all Moray) have left worthy successors ; and I
doubt if the Monks, at their best, grew better apples and
pears than the present Laird of Kinloss and his brother,
the Baronet of Duffus. I am sure they never even
dreamed of such carnations and asters as our friend, Mr.
Grigor, grows in his little garden at the Haugh.
At the time we are speaking of — remember it is 150
years ago — Elgin must have been a comfortable place to
live in as regards vivers. There is a certificate very
formally issued by two worshipful Justices of the Peace,
Sir Thomas Calder of Muirtown, Bart., and Robert Dunbar
of Newton, Esq., dated the last day of the year 1710.
What warrant or reason they had for setting forth the
statement I cannot tell, but certified as it is we cannot
doubt its truth.
" We, Sir Thomas Calder of Muirton, Knt., Rob. Dunbar of
Newton, Esq., J.Ps. within the shire of Elgin, do hereby testify
and declare to all concerned, that the manner of living ....
in the town of Elgin, within the said shire, for merchandise of
all sorts of wines, victuals, and other necessaries for families,
being to be had at low rates as follows, viz. : — Ane carcase of
best beef in the shambles, at 8 pund Scotts. Item — Ane
mutton bulk at 2 merks Scotts. Item — Ane good lien at 2s.
Scotts, and 2s. 6d. the dearest. 14 eggs for ane shilling Scotts.
MERCHANDISE DURING THE LAST CENTURY. 31
Fourteen haddocks for ane shilling and six pennies Scotts, or
2s. at most. 14 whitings for Is. Scotts. Ane stone of butter,
of the best sort, at 3 pund Scotts, quhereof there goes 22 Ib.
to the stone. Ane stone of the best cheese of the north
country make, 2 merks Scotts, or 30s. Scotts at most, quhereof
there is given 22 Ib. to the stone. Ane pint of milk for sixteen
pennies Scotts. Muirfowl and partridge, at 2 shillings Scotts
the pair. Waterfowl as follows, viz. : — Ane goose at 8s. Scotts ;
duck and drake, wild or tame, at four shillings."
Take the prices of some other commodities, in that
same year, gathered from old shop-bills and inn-reckon-
ings. A man's living was charged so much a meal or diet.
Each diet was 2d. English. A chopin ale, Id. Claret,
Is. 3d. a bottle. Brandy, Is. 2d. Sugar, Is. 4d. a pound.
Bohea (the only tea used), £1 5s. to 18s. Cheshire cheese,
5d. per pound.
To return for a moment to the society of Elgin at the
beginning of last century, there was mixed, an element
one hardly expected — a class of merchants — and I will
describe to you their dealings. When the lord and laird
drew all their rents in corn, it came to be of consequence,
I may say, of necessity, to find a market for so much
grain. The proprietors soon found they did not thrive
best when they went to a foreign market on their own
account, and thus sprung up a set of men whose chief, or
at least whose first, dealing was in buying up the meal
and barley of the laird's granary, and shipping it to
southern markets, often to Holland and Flanders or
France, but more commonly to Leith, Newcastle, and
London. The return cargo was often wine ; but it was
by no means beneath the dignity of the trade to invest a
part of the produce in foreign fruit, in sugar, and such
tempting commodities for the home market. The younger
sons of the landed gentry soon took to that business, and
a few heads of decayed houses sought to retrieve their
fortunes by its moderate profits. I find Sir James Calder
of Muirtown, a Baronet, was such a merchant in Elgin
before 1700, and his eldest son, Sir Thomas, carried on
the same trade about 1730 and lower. Before 1700
Cumming of Relugas, and about 1730 Charles Brodie of
Lethen and Dunbar of Kincorth, were corn-merchants in
Inverness. The first coals I have found in the North
were imported by Charles Brodie. A little later my
32 MERCHANTS OF LAST CENTURY IN ELGIN.
grandfather, Robert Innes, a younger son of Dunkinty
and heir of Leuchars, who, I told you, lived at the West
Port of Elgin, carried on such a trade. I stop in passing
merely to observe that he paid for his purchases by bills
on Thomas Coutts &; Co. of Edinburgh, and those bills
were in great demand, for you must remember there were
no banks then north of Edinburgh, and bank notes were
making their way so slowly that, in the middle of the
century, the Baronet of Gordonstown asked as a great
favour from his neighbour, Dunbar of Duffus, to let him
have a bill on London for a small sum of money — some-
thing, I think, under £20.*
There were many of these merchant gentlemen con-
nected with Elgin and Inverness during the first half of
the last century, but none so extensive in their dealings,
nor in all ways so remarkable, as several members of the
Family of Duff, who were then laying the foundations of
that great fortune which their descendants still inherit.
It is a peculiarity of our countrymen of the lower orders
to seek to lessen and disparage men who have risen
rapidly to great wealth and station, and they have been
in the habit of speaking slightly of those founders of the
Fife fortunes — altogether unjustly, so far as I can gather
from the correspondence of the time. Like the other
gentlemen, some of whom I have mentioned — and the list
could be easily and largely increased — the Duffs — William
Duff, younger and elder, of Dipple, merchants in Inverness
and Elgin, and William Duff of Druminuir, at Inverness
— bought and exported corn, and imported and sold all
commodities, great and small, from 1650 to far down in
the following century. They supplied their customers
with wine and brandy, lead for their roofs, and musket
barrels for their defence ; and the notable housewives of
the county with dried fruit, capers, olives, anchovies,
bottles, and domestic utensils, and the fine diaper, which
was very early a prized luxury of our Scotch houses.
But they had other dealings than these. When a great
barony was to be bought, and no ready mone}^ forth-
coming, the Duffs found the money for the purchase,
taking a mortgage, or wadset, over the land, together
* A good deal of light is thrown on that trade, and the early
banking of Scotland, by Sir W. Forbes' History of his Banking-
house, lately published.
RETROSPECT: ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS AGO. 33
with the security of the borrowers. In truth, before
banks were established or insurance companies dreamed
of, the Duffs dealt in money largely. They were the
bankers of the North, and carried on the business much
as we read of its being managed in Florence and Genoa,
and the other free cities of Italy in the old time. In the
next half century to that we are now speaking of, they
invested their available funds in extensive purchases of
land, and had the full advantage of the extraordinary rise
in its value, which seems not yet to have come to its
climax.
Now, let us walk a little way beyond the town in any
direction — remember we are looking 150 years back.
Suppose we go down across the Loch, and see the great
house Sir Robert is building at Gordonstown. The
country is without hedge or hedgerow — alas ! it is but
too much so still — and to add to the inconvenience, the
land was at the date of our walk very much intermixed
— held run-rig, as we used to call it. The tillers of the
soil are no longer serfs, it is true ; and it cannot be said
that they pay too high rents, for the rents have not varied
for a hundred years and more. But they are poor in
means, poor in energy — without knowledge of comfort
and without hope. Then their fashion of husbandry is
this. The farmer, occupying that turf hut — for it is
nothing better — manures and ploughs, and sows with
corn, the old infield lying nearest him. He has no
thought of changing the crop. When the poor exhausted
soil refuses to bear more white grain, he gives it a year
of dead fallow, and takes a flying crop from such of the
outfield as is freest of rocks and marshes, and may have
got a little manured by cattle lying there. When that is
reaped, he leaves poor outfield to recover a skin of weeds
or grass at leisure, and returns as before to crop the old
infield. Sown grass there is none. Turnips — potatoes —
are names as yet unknown beyond the kitchen garden.
My father, who was born the year after Culloden, went
to school in Elgin of course. In his time potatoes were
so uncommon, even round the town, that it was a favourite
frolic of the school-boys to steal them from some garden
and take them to be roasted in the kiln fire at the mill —
just as orchard-robbing has been recognized as the peculiar
privilege of school-boys in all times. Turnips, as a field
VOL. II. 3
34 WRETCHED SLAVERY & LIVELIHOOD OF AGRICULTURISTS.
crop, are of much later date. But to return — When the
crop is cut and housed, the cattle wander at will over the
unfenced land, and from the stubbles and moors pick up
a sustenance till the hard snow storm drives them to the
byre, when straw and a little marsh hay or rushes must
feed them till spring. No wonder that many die of cold
and hunger. The houses are not water-tight, and the
straw always a short crop. It is well if the poor milk
cows can stagger out on their own legs when the byre
door is opened at the disappearance of the snow. It is
well if the poor human inmates of the farm have not been
•driven to bleed the starving cattle to keep their own life
in. Do not accuse me of exaggerating. I have met with
many instances of people convicted of bleeding their
neighbours' cattle to obtain the blood as food. Even in
the houses of the gentry, food was often wanting in winter.
When Sir Robert Gordon was tutor of his nephew, the
Earl of Sutherland, he kept careful accounts of household
matters at Dunrobin. In more than one of these yearly
accounts, the meal of the household is exhausted in spring,
and I remember at least two instances where orders are
given to send and kill deer on the hill for the support of
the Earl's family, in the months of April and May, when
red deer is mere carrion !
You must not expect me to dwell on the manner of
living and thinking of those poor creatures, the cultivators
of the soil of fertile Moray 150 years ago. When the
struggle is for life, the comfort, the cultivation — nay,
the very decencies and charities of life — are apt to be
forgotten.
It is no wonder that in those days a farmer never
became rich. We have no such thing in the old time as
a farmer acquiring property. That was reserved for our
own century, with all its high rents and expensive modes
of cultivation. But the farming population did at last
begin to improve, at the same time when Scotland gene-
rally took such a start forward, its progress dating from
1760. In the latter half of the last century, a new mode
of cultivation was introduced. More skill and energy
were required — perhaps more stock and capital — but the
results were, plenty and comfort, and comparative wealth.
Some of you may remember — all of you have heard —
of the manner of the farmer's life among us sixty years
ADVANTAGES OF THE PRESENT GENERATION. 35
ago. The farms were not so large as they are now, but
there was enough of land to employ the hands of the
family, and plenty of moor all round that repaid improv-
ing. Wheat, which had been little cultivated before, was
now common — I may say universal. There were clover
and rye-grass for summer food, and hay for the horses in
winter. There was turnip enough to make the season of
winter the most plentiful of the year. A few men actu-
ally began to feed fat for the butcher ; but the milk cow
and her calves at least were always well off.
There was no bothy of hired servants, but a neighbour
farmer's son was often one of the ploughmen ; and he was
not despised if he fell in love with the daughter of the
house. I am old enough to look back to those good,
simple manners, and I am not sure that in some respects
we have improved in the last generation. Let me not be
misunderstood. I am not here to undervalue the farmers
of Moray. I have known them long, and have this season
lived among them, and been indebted to them for much
cordial kindness. With the shrewdness and sagacity, the
industry and activity that marked their fathers, they
have joined a higher cultivation and a proper feeling of
independence. I don't object to the smart gig and the
clever nag that takes the farmer to market any more than
I regret that the uncomfortable square hat has taken the
place of his father's good blue bonnet. These are trifles,
and on the whole the advantage is with the present gene-
ration. There is no fear of dandyism, no fear of effeminacy,
with their pursuits, as any one would say who has watched
the patient hopefulness, the gallant courage with which
they struggled through all the aggravating difficulties of
this harvest. You might as well fear the dandyism of
men who had lived through the siege of Lucknow, or
served in the trenches before Sebastopol. I don't find
fault with the piano and its use, were it only to accom-
pany the goodman's daughter in a good Scotch song, or
to set the children to dance at a Christmas merry-making.
But let me give one word of caution. As an old man
who has seen something of the world, I would warn the
farmers of Moray and their wives against educating their
daughters for governesses. Better far, teach them the
management of the dairy and of the kitchen — to relieve
their mothers of housekeeping — to take charge of the
36 THE VULGAR MODERNIZING OF ELGIN.
younger children — than to change the pure air and free
life of the fields and woods for restraint and the life of
cities without its pleasures — to leave a happy home for
one which is seldom other than unhappy.
May I venture one word to masters and servants of
the agricultural class ? We cannot return to the old way
of life, perhaps, and in many respects we are better. But
why should the farmer and the ploughman stand so far
apart ? I know the insufficiency of houses on the farms,
and the wandering tendency, the love of change, of the
farm servants, are pleaded as the reason or the excuse for
the constant shifting, which goes far to destroy the
master's interest in his labourers. I wish, indeed, these
reasons or excuses could be removed, and I am quite sure
if the Moray farmer takes this view of the matter, and
sees that what serves to change the ploughman from an
indifferent hireling to a friendly dependent — a zealous
member of the household — is an immense advantage to
himself, he will not be long of finding means to bring
about that end.
I beg pardon for this digression, and return with all
humility to my own department — the City of Elgin and
its Antiquities. You know I am a professed lover of
picturesque antiquity, and, as such, I cannot but feel
some indignation at the vulgar modernizing which Elgin
has undergone in our time.
If it was absolutely necessary to remove the ancient
Parish Church of St. Giles, why place a sham Greek
Temple in its place ?
The old Town-House, with its heavy double forestairs,
and the rude old Tolbooth Tower, were perhaps justly
condemned, though I loved their hoary quaintness. But
what ill had the Muckle Cross done that caused it to be
ejected from the spacious street which it adorned ?
The irregular tall houses standing on massive pillars
and arcades — the roofs of mellow grey stone, broken
picturesquely with frequent windows — the tall cross-
stepped gables — are poorly exchanged for the prim and
trim, square, modern houses and shops. It is not merely
my love of antiquity, though I confess, with a true
Yankee poet —
" I love the memory of the past, its pressed yet fragrant flowers,
The moss that clothes its broken arch, the ivy on its towers."
MORAY AND ELGIN AS THEY ARE. 37
Yet, in this matter, I would give up the antique, the
picturesque, if it were necessary to repudiate them in
studying the comforts and conveniences of life. I do not
think they are incompatible. Latterly, a somewhat better
style of architecture has sprung up, and to be successful,
the architects of these later buildings only require to
study the genius of the place — to reflect that Elgin has a
peculiar and not ungraceful style of street architecture of
ts own, capable of adaptation, I venture to say, to all the
purposes of shop and dwelling-house.
Excuse this last antiquarian growl, and let me lay the
antiquary aside, and speak a word of Moray and of Elgin
as they are.
They tell you that our flat country — our laigh of Moray
— is not picturesque. No doubt it isn't a land of rock
and wood, and flood ; neither is it the rich English vale,
with its green pastures shaded by hedge-row elms. But
the view from the rocks of Covesea, or old Burghead —
taking in the firth and the Ross-shire hills, and the open-
ing of Cromarty Bay, and all down from Dunrobin to the
airy and unknown heads that may be Caithness or
Orkney — is picturesque in the highest meaning of the
term. For me, I confess our view from Duffus, over the
long flat, broken by the old Keep of Duffus, the setting
sun glancing on the Loch of Spynie, with its fine Palace
Castle, the smoke marking the whereabouts of the little
Oity of Elgin over the Quarrywood, the opening of the
Glen of Rothes, and the two heights that terminate our
landscape on that side — Benrinnes and the Bin of Cullen
— have charms that more adorned landscapes do not
possess. But if you are not to the manner born — if you
don't enjoy that peculiar Moray landscape — wait till to-
morrow morning, then mount on my rough Irish car, and
let me drive you to Elgin — not the direct way, but a little
round — past the Lime Kiln, under Lesmurdie's Cottage,
and — as you gaze from that turn above Newmill at the
old Cathedral towers crowning the river bank, rising from
among what appears a goodly wood of forest trees, with
the towers and spires of the burgh churches behind,
lighted with an early morning sun — confess that no man
can look on that landscape unmoved, even setting aside
all the associations which crowd upon us. I fancy tha
is the view that oftenest rises to the mind of the Moray
38 THE ATTRACTIONS OF ELGIN FOR OLD NATIVES.
"loon" in his log-hut or dark shanty, far away in the
backwoods, when he shuts his eyes and presses his hands
upon them, and dreams himself back to the school holiday,
by the banks of the Lossie — back to the days of the
scantack and paperap.
The town, with all its faults of modern art, has still an
air of some dignity that distinguishes it from country towns
in general. Out of the streets, there is nothing to blame.
The villas that have grown up, and are daily springing up
around, delight the eye with their appearance of comfort,
their neatness, and even elegance, and with the proofs of
a taste for gardening — a great symptom of civilization.
I don't wonder that old Moray natives draw round
Elgin to spend the evening of life. I am not surprised
that many strangers are attracted by the charming
climate and the many conveniences of the neighbourhood.
Your society now shows a cultivation which I seek in
vain in other country towns. Your Museum alone proves
a great amount of concentrated intelligence in antiquities
and natural science. A hundred years ago, Lachlan Shaw,
then minister here, put forth his History of Moray, the
second published county history of Scotland — a very
creditable book for its time. But he stood alone — without
sympathy, without help, without fellow workman or
successor. What a different book might be made of a
history of Moray now! You have in your own circle
almost all the elements of a most efficient band of statis-
tical workmen. Let Dr. Geddes take the command. In
mediaeval antiquities he will be supported by Dr. Taylor
and Mr. James Macdonald. For charter knowledge — the
interesting subject of the descent of lands as well as of
families — Mr. Robert Young's stores are ample, and, what
is rare, are all at command ; nor should I be found want-
ing in that department. Then, for family history and the
successive changes in manners, Captain Edward Dunbar
has accumulated great stores. In natural science we are
yet richer. In geology have we not Mr. Patrick Duff —
(I wish he were stronger and younger) — and Mr. Martin
and Mr. Macdonald again ? Botany is safe in the hands
of Mr. Stables and Dr. Innes of Forres. But, for natural
science, what is there in all the dominions of nature —
earth, air, water — that escapes the observation of Dr.
Gordon of Birnie ?
OLD CHURCH OF BIRNIE. 39
With such a band from volunteers on the spot, already
drilled — with assistance of all lovers of nature and of our
country — with a rising generation striving to enter our
ranks, we could do more than Shaw dreamt of — some-
thing really worthy of the Province of Moray, which we
love so well !
And now,' I have but to thank you for the kind recep-
tion you have given your old Sheriff, and the patience
with which you have heard him.] (Cosmo Innes.)
Next up the river is
THE PAEISH OF BIKNIE,
Anciently Brenoth, i. e., a Brae or High Land,
it extendeth on the east bank of Lossie, 3 miles
from north to south, and a mile from east to
west.
The Church* standeth near the river, a half
mile above the north end of the parish, 2 miles
south from Elgin, and 4- miles north east of
Dallas.
* This small Fane, next to the Church of Mortlach, is the
oldest entire in the Province of Moray. It has been repeatedly
re-roofed. The windows have all been tampered with — the
parishioners not having been content with " the dim religious
light." There was no Altar or East Window, the tapers lit at
Mass being artificially effective. There were two small side
windows, deeply splayed, behind round arches with unequal
sides. A plain deal Pulpit is upreared in the centre of the
Kirk, at the fine Norman arch which divides the Chancel
from the Nave. The former is boarded off for a Kirk Session-
house, while the site of the Altar is or was lately supplanted .
by a poor stove. The Church is built most substantially,
inside and outside, of well-cut ashler freestone. It seems
to date at the llth or 12th century, and may stand as long as
it has stood.
The Stone at Birnie (a granite boulder) is now placed at the
west pillar of the northern entrance to the Churchyard. At a
40 THE BIBLE STONE OF BIRNIE.
The whole parish was a part' of the Bishop
lands of Moray ; and when Patrick Hephurn, the
last Eoman Catholic Bishop, harboured his out-
lawed nephew James Earl of Bothwell, in 1566,
he resigned these and other lands to the Earl of
Moray Eegent ; and this parish is a part of the
estate of the Earl of Moray, but held in feu by
the Earl Fife, William King of Newmiln, Leslie
of Finrossie, Coupland of Stackhouse, Duff of
Tomshill, &o. But of late the Earl of Findlater
has purchased, and is now sole proprietor of this
parish.
BIRNIE.
[Situation, Soil, Climate. — Besides the valleys which
the rivers occupy, and may be conceived to have formed,
in the chain of mountain stretched along the southern
side of the low lands of Moray, one valley, in which there
is no river, opens southward from the widest part of the
plain, where the western side of the parish of Elgin
borders with the east of Birnie, and extends quite through
the mountain to the banks of the Spey. A square hill, about
6 miles along the base of every side, is hereby insulated on
the east of this defile, having the plain of Rothes on the
south, on the east partly Rothes, and partly Speymouth,
and the champaign of Moray on its northern side. The
mountain on the western side of this defile extends
beyond its length to either hand, from Craig Elachy
overhanging the Spey, to the lake of Mostowie in the
parish of Alves ; as if that river, once occupying a channel
former period, it had been built into the low wall which sur-
rounds the Churchyard, but it was removed some years ago to
its present site. It has been the subject of many surmises ;
but its common appellation is The Bible Stone, from its having
an oblong figure resembling a book cut out on its surface.
Also, The Cairn of Kilfornan and vestiges of trenches and en-
campments are to be seen. See Plate XVII. Vol. I. Stuarts
Sculptured Stones of Scotland. (ED.)
JBRENUTH THE ORIGINAL NAME OF BIRNIE. 41
along its base 60 feet higher than its present bed, had
then poured its whole stream through this defile, and
winded over the plain, in a variety of courses during
different ages into the sea.
The parish of Birnie is placed in the entrance of this
defile, extended partly on the plain and partly on the
side of the mountain, through which the water of Lossie,
issuing from its own valley in the mountain, bends from
its original direction parallel to the Frith, winds north-
ward along the plain, doubled almost in its stream by the
increase of three brooks, the Lenoch, Bardon, and Rash-
crook, each tumbling from the hill through its own narrow
vale. It appears by the Chart. MOT. that the parish has
bore the name Brenuth since times that were ancient in
the beginning of the 13th century, a Gaelic appellation,
signifying, in its literal interpretation, the north hill side.
The cultivated land is generally a shallow soil, sandy,
stony, and steep, lying on a bed of rock, or much-con-
creted gravel. The soil on several fields on the banks of
the Lossie is loam incumbent on sand, or clay ; and over
the whole parish, plots of moorish or peat soil are found.
The air, though healthful, is rather moist and cold in the
hills, where the frost is earlier and sharper, and more
rain and snow fall, than on the plain.
State of Property. — The whole parish was part of the
lands of the bishoprick. The Regent Earl of Moray
obliged Bishop Hepburn, on the pretence of entertaining
his outlawed nephew Both well, about the year 1566, to
annex it with other lands to his private estate. The hills
affording game in abundance, one croft, for the Earl's
accommodation in the hunting season, was assigned to
the vintner, for the yearly payment of a rose, and another
to the blacksmith, for the annual delivery of a horse-shoe,
if required. This last has still remained a separate property,
and appertains to Thomas Stephen, Esq., physician in
Elgin, valued in the Cess-Book of the County at £6 16s. 6d.
Scots, now rented at about £12 sterling. The remainder
of the parish appertains to the Earl of Findlater, valued
at £727 17s., amounting at present to £360 sterling of
yearly rent, from which the feu-duties to the Earl of
Moray are 8 bolls and £1 4s. 2d.; and to the Crown, as
succeeding the Bishop, £3 10s. lOd. The whole arable
land of the parish is 850 acres, of which two farms only
42 THE KONNEL BELL AND FONT OF BIRNIE.
are rented above £50 sterling; and there are 40 under
that extent. The uncultivated ground, consisting of moor
soil and peat earth, with some interjacent plots of green
pasture, amounts to 5000 acres.
State Ecclesiastical. — The Church was the first Cathe -
dral in the diocese. There is no account when the present
fabric was built : though small, it is wholly of free-stone,
neatly squared and cut, and is distinguished by its nave
and choir. The fourth Bishop, Simon de Tonei, was
buried in it in the year 1184. The stipend is £41 16s. 5d.
and 88 bolls 2 firlots of victual. The glebe is nearly 9
acres. The right of patronage appertains to the Earl of
Moray. The salary of the school is £5 ; and as the num-
ber of souls in the parish, of whom 2 only are Seceders,
amounts to 402, the emoluments of office, arising from
about 20 scholars, must be inconsiderable. The provision
for the poor arises from two separate bequeathments,
amounting together to £2 10s.; and the double of that
sum is added by the contributions of the people who
attend public worship in the Parish Church, which, after
the necessary deductions to the session-clerk and officer,
affords a sorry pittance to 18 persons, enrolled on the
parish list.
Miscellaneous Information. — The people, though poor,
are industrious, cheerful, and temperate : music is their
favourite diversion ; many play on the bagpipe, and seve-
ral on the violin.
There is a very ancient Bell of copper and silver ; it is
called the Coronach [or Ronnel] : its figure is not round ;
it is square, having two sides wider than the other two :
all of them are cut into open decorations near the top.
It was made at Rome, and consecrated by the Pope. [It
is 6 by 4 inches, and 18 inches high, riveted with nails,
with a handle.] The consecrated Font remains also entire,
though now tumbled about without reverence in the
churchyard. It is a free-stone vessel, the frustum of a
cone, and appears to have been divided by a plate of
iron, that the water for the baptism of males might not
be mixed with that for females.* The Church is still
held in great veneration. It is believed that prayers
* Nonsense! The ancient Fonts and those of modern cor-
rect design are so divided; for the intent of allowing the Water
when administered to nm off through a hole at the bottom. (G.)
THE EFFECTUAL PRAYERS IN THE CHURCH OF BIRNIE. 43
there for the sick, for three following Sundays, will be
heard; and people, at the distance of 60 miles, have
desired these prayers : and it is a jocular rebuke among
the common people, upon undue complaints for any
slight distress or improper behaviour, that "such must
be prayed for in the Church of Birnie, that they may
end or mend."
The cairn of Kilforeman, although a pile of stone 300
feet in circumference at its base, hath ceased to tell the
purpose of its own accumulation ; and " the Bible Stone,"
about a mile eastward from the Church, having the figure
of a book distinctly engraven, no longer marks the pro-
perty of the Bishop : but the cave in the rock of Gedloch
still records the tradition of its having been the haunt of
a band of armed robbers, who plundered and distressed
the country, and reminds the passing generation of the
superior advantages of the present constitution, by which
every species of oppression, unauthorised by law, is most
entirely quelled.
The vestiges of an Encampment, protected on the west
by the brook Bardon, and on the north and east by a
deep defile, is still to be traced.
A ridge of rock extends from east to west through
the middle of the parish, and quarries of free-stone, slate,
and lime-stone, have lately been discovered. There are
oak, birch, hazel, and plane-trees, but not in sufficient
quantity for the implements of husbandry; and large
trunks of oak and fir are dug in the tracts of peat earth.
Broom, furze, juniper, sloes, and bramble, are in plenty,
and the water-lily in the Gedloch is peculiar to the
parish. It is embellished also in some degree by two
water-falls, the Linn of Shoggle, and the Ess of Glen-
laterach, each about 20 feet in height. (Survey of the
Province of Moray.}
Birnie is a place of great antiquity and anciently of
importance. It seems to have been the first place fixed
on by the holy Christian missionaries as a suitable place
for a Cathedral Church. This seems to be proved by
Bishop Brice's Charter for the erection of Spynie. " Our
predecessors," says he, " took only one of the Churches of
Birnie, or Spynie, or Kinedar." Here the fourth Bishop
was buried.
44 REV. j. B. CRAVEN'S NOTES ON BIRNIE.
The present fabric, however, does not seem to be of
such antiquity as this, though exceedingly old.
Many curious relics are here. The quaint old Church
at the side of the " north hill side," as the name implies,
is an exceedingly interesting building, one of the oldest it
is supposed. It consists of a nave and chancel. The
pulpit is placed now in the centre of the fine arch which
divided the two, and the chancel used as a vestry. What
the old Bishops would have thought of this I know not.
The chancel is lighted with narrow lancet windows, the
walls being of great thickness. Here is a very ancient
Bell said to have been consecrated and brought from
Rome. It is square, having two sides wider than the
other two ; all of them are cut into open decorations near
the top. It has a handle, square also on the top. A
curious font of a nature seldom to be seen is now tumbling
about the churchyard, where it may be thrown about at
pleasure.
At the gate is one of those curious sculptured Stones to
be met with often in such old places. The figures can
now be scarcely traced. A drawing is given in Stuarts
Sculptured Stones of Scotland.
After its desertion as the Cathedral, it seems to have
been important. Duncan Thayne of Calder had a charter
in 1421, part of the scut and service being thrice yearly,
paying scut and homage at the Bishop's Court at the
Chapel of Birneth.
In 1451 the Barony of Byrne th was incorporated with
that of Spyny in a grant made by King James, in hand
and glory of the Holy Trinity and grateful gift to John
Bishop of Moray. I know not the Patron Saint, neither
does Mr. Shaw speak of this. (J. B. Craven?)
EPITAPHS IN THE CHURCHYARD OF BIRNIE.
I. Here lyes under this pulpit the Corps of Mr. Wm.
Saunders, late minister of this parochjn, who deceased the
13 of May, 1670, and of Katharine and Elspet Saunders his
children.
II. Here. lyes. an. honest, man. called. Alex. Adam, some-
time, lived, in. Whiteraith. who. departit. 1668. and. Elspet.
Rvssel his. spouse, who. departed. 1688.
A. A M. O.
EPITAPHS IN THE CHURCHYARD OF BIRNIE. 45
III. Here. lyes. Mariorie. Robertson, who. lived, in. Birny.
who. deceast. the. 20. of. September. 1694. and ....
IV. Here. lyes. ane. honest, man. . . . time, lived, in. Bog-
svde. who. departed, the .... 16.
J. R. D.
V. Here. lyes, interred, the. bodie. of. John . . . dine. who.
dyed. the. 7. day. of. Feb. 1710. and. his. spouse. Agnes.
Stephen, who. died. the. 6. of. January. 1677. and. 3. children.
I. R. I. M. 1711.
VI. This. is. the. burial, place, appointed, for. John. Petrie.
in. Whitereath. who. departed, the. 2. day. of. October. 1709.
and .... his. spouse, who. died, the* .... of* .... and.
here. lyes. William. Greager. some. time, indualler. in ....
VII. Here are interred the bodies of James Man in Bogside,
who died the 25 of March, 1727, and Janet Brander, who
died the 10th of August, 1745, spovse to the said James Man,
and their children, who died — James Man, on the 30 of
November, 1731, Margaret, the 10th of March, 1742, Isabella
Man* . . . and Janet Man, Alex, James, and Eph erne,
lawful children to David Stephen and Isabella Man.
VIII. This. is. the. burial, place, of. John. Smith, sometime,
smith . . . who. died. the. 4. of. May. 1740. aged. 71. and. his.
spovse. Margaret. Simpson* . . . and their children* . . .
IX. Here. lyes. the. corps, of. Wm. Mvrdach. farmer, in.
Auchtertyre. He. died. the. 2. day. of. June. 1741. and of
Janet Murdach his spouse, who dyed the* . . . day of* . . .
and Alexander Murdach his son, who dyed the* . . . day of*
. . . and his spouse, Janet Murdach, who dyed the 5 day of
May 1750, and their children.
All passengers yt does goe by
And viw the dust wherein I ly,
I once had breath as well as ye,
Therefore be mindful for to di.
X. This. is. the. bvrial. place, of. Alexander. Mortimar.
sometime, farmer, in. Rioch. who. died. the. 11. day. of.
November. 1736. aged. 63. and. also. of. John. Mortimar.
farmer, at. the. Eastport. of. Elgin, his. son. who. erected, this,
stone, and* . . .
XI. Here. lies. the. dvst. of. Alleogr. Cowie. sometime,
farmer, in. Iteraith. who. died. the. 27. of. Feb. 1741. aged. 63.
* Never inserted.
46 EPITAPHS IN THE CHURCHYARD OF BIRNIE.
and. Marjory. Brander. his. spovse. who. died. the. 21. of. Jany.
1757. and. their, children. Anna. Elspet. Dorothy. Mariorie.
Cowey.
XII. Here lies William Michael, lawlul son to William
Michael in Fa ... who died . . .
XIII. Here lyes James* . . . and their children, Elspet,
Elizabeth, Anne, lelan, John, Robert, Samuel, all died young,
and Alexander, died Octr. 1744, aged 24, and his son James,
who was at the charges of this stone.
XIV. This Stone is placed here by James Omfre, in memory
of his parents Alexander Omfre, sometime farmer in Tanishill,
who died 1 March, 1762, aged 63, and his spouse.
XV. Here lies the bodie of William Cow, farmer in White
raith, who died the 23 of . . . 1777, and his . . . died in . . .
XVI. This is the burial place of John Rush, farmer in
Stainkhens, who died 20 Septr., 1766, and Katherine Rush,
his spouse, who died September the 18, 1749, and their
children, Elspet, died February the 9, 1750, and Jean, died
March the 1, 1750.
XVII. This is the burial place of James Wiseman, leat
farmer in Thonishill, who died Dec. 16, 1762.
Interred here the body of Alexander Janken, late fanner in
Pettendrich, who died the 4 January, 1789, aged 61 years.
THE PARISH OP DALLAS
(Dale-uis, i.e., a watered valley) is surrounded
with hills, except to the east towards Birnie, and
a small portion of it to the north-west.
The Church standeth on the west bank of
Lossie, about 4 miles south-west of Birnie, and
near 5 miles north of Knockando.
In the lower end of the parish is Killess, f
* Never inserted.
t The estate of Kellas lies on both sides of the River Lossie,
below the Barony of Dallas, and borders with the lands of
Pluscarden. So far back as 1237, Robert Fyndoc held Kellas
PARISH OF DALLAS; ESTATE OE KELLAS. 47
church-land, for above 100 years the heritage of
Farquharson of Killess now extinct, and the lands
are the property of the Earl Fife.
Above this is the barony of Dallas. I know
not if, from this valley, Dallas of that Ilk had its
name and designation. But I find Willielmus
de Doleys, a witness to Hugo Herock's donation,
on the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin,
1286, and "Johannes de Dolais, Thanus de Crom-
dale on 12th Sep., 1367" (Beg. Epis. Morav.),
and Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Archibald
Dallas of that Ilk, with consent of her husband,
Duncan Fraser, in 1428, disponed her right of
Dallas to John Dallas of Easter Foord, her uncle,
and the heir male of that family, who, in exchange
of his lands in the south, got from David, Earl
of Crawford, the lands of Budzet in Calder parish
anno 1440 (Hist. Kelr.). This barony had been
long the property of Cumine of Altyre, before it
was sold to Sir Ludovick Gordon of Gordonstoun,
in feu from Bishop Andrew of Moray ; and in 1443 Alexander,
King of Scotland, granted it to God, the blessed Virgin Mary,
the Evangelist S. John, and to the Maison Dieu near Elgin.
The lands of Easter and Wester Kellas and Corponach were
granted by the Bishop and Chapter to William Farquarson,
dated at Scone 26 Aug. and 2 Sep., 1562. A Precept, dated
at Spynie 15 Jan., 1584, infefted William Cuming or Far-
quharson in the lands of " Ester and Vaster Kellas and the
Corponach." The family of Farquharson descended from
Ferquhard, 2nd son of Alexander Cuming, 6th laird of Altyre,
who, being chagrined by the refusal of the Chief of the Clan
to bury some of their deceased relatives in the family burial-
place, dropped the cognomen of Cuming for Farquharson.
(ED.)
48 THE PARISH OF DALLAS.
in the end of the last century. Sir Eobert Gordon,
by ditching, draining, and manuring, has im-
proved this place and built a convenient house,
adorned with much planting.
A mile north-west from the Church is Brenchil,
some time the property of Grant of Brenchil, but
lately of Cumine of Craigmiln, who, about 1752,
sold it to James Grant of Knockando.
DOLLAS.
[Situation, Soil, Climate. — A part of the parish of
Dollas, the estate of Craigmill, lies in the southern end of
the valley which has been considered as forming the body
of the parish of Rafford. Through this estate the stream
of Lochty hastens eastward, through a narrow cut in the
rocky hill, to loiter in the vale of Pluscarden. This cut
appears as if made merely for the passage of the Lochty,
where it would be easy to turn it northward by the
Church of Rafford, if that was not originally its natural
course. The greater part of the parish of Dallas lies on
the south side of the Hill of Melundy, which is stretched
between the courses of the Lochty and the Lossie. When
the Lossie occupied a channel about 3 feet higher than
the bottom of its present bed, a great proportion of the
plain on the south side of the Hill of Melundy must have
been a lake ; and except a pool, covering only a few acres,
the whole of this plain still remains a deep extensive bed
of pure peat earth; from this circumstance its Gaelic
name, dale uisk, the water valley, has probably been
suggested. Along the course of the Lossie, from Birnie,
at the east, to its sources in the mountain, which is inter-
posed between Spey and Findern, the parish measures 12
miles ; its breadth, including Craigmill, southward to the
borders of the parish of Knockando, is 9 miles ; but its
mean breadth, which is pretty equally divided by the
river, taken from the southern side of the Hill of Melundy,
measures only about 6 miles. Several brooks rushing
down from the hills on both sides intersect the parish
across, nearly at right angles to the river.
BARONY OF DOLLAS; HILL OF MELUNDY; KELLAS. 49
Except such sandy fields as lie upon its banks, the soil
may be accounted moorish, and in general not very fertile ;
the crops for the most part are insufficient for the support
of the people and of the cattle. The air is cold and often
moist, retarding the seed season till towards the middle
of April, and the harvest till near the end of November.
State of Property. — The barony of Dollas is a part of
the estate of Gordonstown, and by succession is become
the property of Col. Alexander Penrose Cuming Gordon
of Altyre. The family of Gordonstown had projected a
magnificent seat at Rhininver, under the southern side of
the Hill of Melundy, in the form of a crescent, having the
house in the diameter, and the offices in the periphery.
The offices were only completed, in which a commodious
temporary accommodation is neatly fitted up. The Hill
of Melundy behind, on which a semi-circular garden,
answering to the form of the building, was intended, is
planted with an extensive forest of Scots fir ; the heathy
peat marsh spreads a large dun plain before, having the
river trailing around its farther verge.
The valued rent amounts to £818 15s. 6d. Scots. The
real rent was considerably increased about 30 years ago
by the improvements in the hilly parts of the estate.
The landlord gave timber for the buildings, which were
of sod ; the second year, the first rent was only a hen ;
but it increased by Is. for every succeeding crop of the
lease, which terminated in the nineteenth year, when the
land was let of new, at the value to which it had been
then brought.
The estate of Killess or Kellas, appertaining to the
Earl of Fife, lies also on both sides of the river below the
barony of Dollas, and borders with his Lordship's land of
Pluscarden. There is a considerable extent of natural
oak wood on the north bank of the river ; it has been
managed only as copse wood, and is at present young.
The valued rent of this estate is £271 Us. 4d. Scots. A
considerable extent of land has also been recently added
by improvements in the hills. The only other proprietor
of the parish is Robert Grant of Elchies, Esq., who has
the lands of Craigmill, valued at £301 19s., making the
valued rent of the whole parish equal to £1,392 5s. lOd.
Scots. The farms are but of small extent. The rent of
the arable ground stretches from Is. to 15s. the acre —
VOL. II. 4
•50 ST. MICHAEL'S EFFIGY AND CHURCH, DALLAS.
from the least improved moor to the highest cultivated
field, the mean rent will be about 11s. the acre, exclusive
of the natural pasturage.
State Ecclesiastical. — The parish was made up in its
present form in the year 1657, by detaching Altyre and
conjoining Killess. It is not now particularly known in
what manner the consequent dilapidation of the stipend
was compensated to the ministers of Elgin, but it must
be from the record inferred that these ancient worthies
were neither raised above the vain concerns of this tran-
sitory life in any superior measure to that of their modern
successors, nor that, like to the primitive Christians, they
were at all disposed to have their worldly goods in
common. In October, 1672, Alexander Cuming, minister
of Dollas, complains to the Presbytery, " That notwith-
standing of the legal annexation of Killess, both as to
benefice and office, Mr. James Horn, minister of Elgin,
had that year, without warrant from bishop or synod, but
at his own hand, intermeddled with and carried off a
considerable part of the stipend." This complaint was
referred to a meeting of the Synod, in seven days after,
who appointed a committee to settle the business.
A few years ago the Church was a very ancient fabric,
thatched with heath, and without windows, save 2 or 3
narrow slits which yawned to a very disproporttoned
wideness within, and the effigy of the patron, St. Michael,
;stood weather-beaten in a niche near the top of the eastern
gable without, about 4 feet high. The Church and Manse,
however, are at present commodious buildings, though
both in some danger of being sweeped away by the river.
The stipend, including the allowance for the Communion,
is £58 6s. 4d. sterling, of which about £11 sterling has
been drawn from the vicarage teinds of the parish of
Auldern, by an arrangement which seems to have been
continued from the establishment of the Church of Rome.
The glebe, like the parish, is divided by the Lossie ; it
contains about 14 acres, and is accommodated with a little
natural wood on the banks of the river, affording some
convenience, but not an object of any profit.
The Parochial School is only a recent establishment.
The salary is £5, and the fee of the session-clerk only £1.
The Church being in a central situation is sufficiently
commodious for the celebration of the public ordinances
OLD MARKET CROSS OF DALLAS. 51
of religion. The Parochial School, however, can accom-
modate but a small proportion of a parish of such length,
intersected by so many streams, often impassable in every
season. The Society for Propagating Christian Know-
ledge have, therefore, established a school, with an ap-
pointment of £10 in the year, in the populous district of
Killess, and which has hitherto served the purpose of its
settlement in a very satisfactory manner. The poor on
the parish list are not a numerous body^ — there is no other
fund for their provision but the charity of their own
neighbours, all of whom are far from opulent. The whole
people appertain to the National Church, amounting to
the number of 888 souls.
Miscellaneous Information. — In the churchyard a
neatly cut stone Column, 12 feet high, terminated by a
well formed flower-de-luce for its capital, still remains the
Market Cross, at which the effects of bankrupt tenants are
occasionally exposed to auction. A large square stone is
the pedestal. The whole length, or rather height, of the
Column from the ground is 12 feet.
The peats for fuel are of an excellent quality, and the
quantity in this remote quarter deemed inexhaustible.
As the soil does not afford corn sufficient for the sup-
port of the people, the deficiency, the rent, and other
necessaries, are supplied by the sale of sheep and black
cattle which can be spared, and in a great measure by the
weekly sale of peats in the markets of Forres and Elgin,
sold from 8d. to Is. 2d. a small cartfull, drawn by a very
little lean horse. The wool also which is produced in the
parish is spun in the families of the tenants, and several
weavers are constantly employed in making it into coarse
cloth called plaiden, which is sold from 9d. to Is. the
yard.] (Survey of the Province of Moray.}
EPITAPHS IN THE CHURCHYARD OF DALLAS.
In confirming eight of the old canonries of the Cathedral
of Elgin in 1226, mention is made of the Church of Dolays
Mychel. In 1350 the Church of Dolays Mychel, of which
the Sub-Dean of Moray was incumbent, is rated at 11s.
Scots. (Reg. Ep. Morav.)
In 1574 the Kirks of Birneth (Birnie) and Doles were
under one minister, and Alex. Johnstone was reader at
the latter.
52 EPITAPHS IN DALLAS CHURCHYARD.
The River Lossie runs past, and Michael's Well is close
beside the Kirk. Michael Fair was held there in old
times, and a Market Cross of the fleur-de-lis pattern —
unfortunately much injured — stands in the burial-ground.
A stone effigy of the Saint (at one time in a niche in the
wall of the old kirk) lies beside the Cross.
The date upon the belfry, 1793, has reference to the
building of the present Church, within which is the follow-
ing inscription upon a marble tablet : —
I. Helen Cuming, lawful daughter of Alexander Cuming of
Craigmill and Elizabeth Tulloch, died the 14th Nov., 1800, and
was interred in the family burial-ground, which is opposite
to, and a few feet distant from, the outside of the south-east
door of this church. Also are interred in the same burying-
ground daughters of Alexander Cuming of Craigmill : Margaret
Cuming, who died at Elgin 21st January, 1808 ; Jean Cuming,
who died at Elgin 2nd November, 1817 ; Clementina Cuming,
who died at Elgin 2nd June, 1821 ; Eliza Cuming, who died at
Elgin 7th December, 1835.
William Cuming, the eldest son by a third marriage of
James Cuming of Relugas and Presley, was the first of
the Craigmill Cumings, and his full brother George was
an officer under Gustavus Adolphus (Douglas' Baronage).
One of this family, who was a Commissioner to the
Duke of Perth, was at the Battle of Culloden, where he
was taken prisoner and carried to London. Having been
released from prison, through some influence unknown to
himself, he returned home, and about 1752 sold the pro-
perty of Craigmill to Mr. Grant of Elchies.
The next three inscriptions (in the churchyard) relate
to members of the same family : —
II. Sacred to the memory of Peter Cuming of Craigmill,
Esquire, who died at Blackhills on the 14th April, 1811, aged
eighty-five years; and Mrs. Isobel Leslie of Balnageith, his
spouse, who died at Blackhills on the 30th November, 1823,
aged ninety years.
Mrs. Cuming's ancestors, who acquired the property of
Balnageith, near Forres, about the end of the 17th century,
were a branch of the noble family of Rothes. The Rev.
Mr. Leslie, minister of St. Andre ws-Lhanbryde, who alsa
attained to the age of 90, was the father of Mrs. Cuming
and other children, one of whom, a son, sold Balnageith
about the year 1849.
EPITAPHS IN DALLAS CHURCHYARD. 53
III. Sacred to the memory of Lachlan Cuming, Esquire of
Blackhills, who was the son of Peter Cuining of Craigmill,
Esqr., and Mrs. Isobel Leslie of Balnageith. Affectionate duty
and kindness, as a son and a brother, were the endearing study
of his whole life. He died 19th November, 1836, aged eighty
years.
IV. Erected by his children to the memory of Thomas
Cuming, Esq. of Demarara, who died in Elgin on the 31st of
March, 1813, aged 73 years. He lived 50 years in that Colony;
was a principal promoter of its prosperity and wealth, an affec-
tionate husband, an indulgent parent, a kind friend, and a
truly benevolent man, esteemed and beloved by all who ever
knew him.
V. From a headstone : —
This is the burial place of Alex. Buie, sometime ventener in
Elgin, who died June the 12th, 1758, aged 51, and Jannet
Richard, his spouse.
O, mortal man, stay and observe
That strenth nor walth cannot preserve
You from the grave where now I ly,
My soul is far beyond the sky ;
Thy thoughts on worldly things are lost,
When death appears you soon must post.
Here lyes also the body of Charles Buie, sometime farmer in
Torrie Castle, who dyed Feb. the 9th, 1773, aged 52 years, and
his spouse, Agnes Watson, who dyed Oct. the 8th, 1793, aged
55 years.
VI. Near the above : —
This stone is plased here by John Camron, mason in Edinvil,
in memory of his virtuous mother, Elisabeth Camron, who died
3rd November, 1779, aged 47 years. She was prudent, virtu-
ous, temprat, chast, though early stript of life. Her soul imortal
among the blist above we hope treumphs in her Redemer's love.
The expression "of" in next inscription is scarcely
correct, Mr. Dick having been tenant of the farm of
Rhininver, under Sir William Gordon Cuniing, Bart. : —
VII. Sacred to the memory of Wm. Dick, Esq. of Rhininver,
who died on the 8th day of October, 1846.
This district gave surname to the family of Dollas, or
Dallas, one of whom, William of Doleys, knight, witnessed
Hugh Herock's gift of the lands of Daldeleyth (Dandeleith)
to the Church of the Holy Trinity of Elgin, 1286. The
54 BOULDER ON THE SITE OF DALLAS CHURCH.
direct male line of the family failed in Archibald Dallas
of that ilk. In 1428 his daughter and heiress, Elizabeth,
wife of Duncan Fraser of the Lovat family, disponed her
right of Dallas to her uncle, the laird of Easter Ford.
Sir Thomas Cuming of Altyre, some time before 1411,
obtained certain lands within the barony, and in 141 £>
received a license from James I. to erect a castle or fortalice
at Dallas. Ruins of the stronghold and outworks of Tura
Castle, which appear to have been moated, occupy an
eminence on the side of Dorval Burn, about a mile north
from the Church.
In 1622 James Cuming of Altyre had a charter of the
advocation of the Kirk of Dallas, which was retained by
the Baronets of Altyre until the abolition of patronage.
Farquhar, second son of Alexander Cuming of Altyre,
was possibly the first Cuming that held the Kellas portion
of the parish. He appears to have had a mind of his own,
and, as tradition avers, having quarrelled with his brother,
and being refused burial in the tomb of his ancestors, he
assumed, by way of revenge, the surname of Farquharson.
From him are said to be descended the Farquharsons of
Haughton, and other families of that name in Aberdeen-
shire (Epitaphs i., 118.)
A rude undressed boulder, possibly the remains of a
stone circle, which stands on the east side of the parish,
is said to mark the site of an old church or a burial place.
A bridge which crossed the Lossie near the church was-
carried away by the floods of 1829 and was replaced by
the present freestone structure, which has three arches.
The village of Dallas, which is a feu off the Altyre
estates, was founded about 80 years ago, and contains
from 40 to 50 houses.
Dallas (Dal-es) appears to mean the river haugh ; and
Kellas (Keal-es) the narrow river, is quite descriptive of
the latter district as compared with the former. (Jemises
Epitaphs.)
I now return to the mouth of the river Lossie.
KINEDDAE OR KINEDAE PARISH.
The parish of Kineddar (Cean-edir, i.e. a point
between the sea and the loch) is two miles in
PARISH OF KINEDDAR. 55-
length and one in breadth, westward from Los-
siemouth, betwixt the frith and the Loch of
Spynie.
The Church standeth near the centre, a mile
east from Duffus ; 2^ miles almost north from
New Spynie, and 2^ miles from St. Andrews
north-west. At the mouth of Lossie is a harbour,,
but so barred as to admit only small craft. It is
the property of the town of Elgin, where they
have some fishing boats. (The harbour of Lossie
and the fishing houses were the property of the
family of Brodie, from whom the Magistrates of
Elgin purchased it, and pay a small feu-duty.
The harbour, which is now repairing, will be of
great advantage to the merchants and other in-
habitants of the town.) Next thereto are the lands-
of Kineddar, granted by Patrick Hepburn, Bishop
of Moray, to the Earl of Moray Eegent, and
purchased from that family by the Lord Brodie.
Here there is a fishing of white fish at Stotfield.
West from Kineddar is Drainie, once the heri-
tage of Innes of Drainie, now extinct, from whom
Sir Eobert Gordon purchased it anno 1636, as he
did in 1638 the adjacent lands of Ettles from
Innes of Pathnack, and in 1639 the lands of
Plowlands, Ogstoun, and Bellormie, from the
Marquis of Huntly. Here is a fine seat called
Gordonston, and a large modern house, with gar-
dens, ponds, and planting. At Cave-Sea there is
a good white fishing.
56 CEAN-NA-DUR — THE HEAD IN THE WATER.
DRAINIE.
[Situation, Soil, Climate. — The parishes which have
been described may, in a general way, be considered as
extending from the. sea to the mountain; but here the
country opens to the wideuess of 10 or 12 miles, and a
right line passing over the plain, by the Church of
Drainy, would measure the breadth of this parish and
that of Spynie and Elgin together. The coast from
Speymouth to Lossiemouth, mostly in the parish of
Urquhart, lies in the direction from south-east to north-
west, and has been described a low, flat, sandy shore.
A rocky head-land called Cotilard, signifying in the
Gaelic back-height, is here projected into the sea, round
which the coast turning, tends more directly west to the
head of the firth at Beaulie. This head-land may be
regarded as the termination of a ridge raised along the
coast for the whole length of the parish, and continued
far into Duffus, there being only one breach on the west-
ern end of the Goulard, through which the level land
stretches to the sea. Between this ridge and the lake of
Spynie lies the parish of Drainie, a Gaelic word, import-
ing the thorny field, probably the natural production of
the land about the Church before it was cultivated. The
parish is 2 miles in breadth and 4 in length, with very
little inequality of surface ; yet scarcely one half of this
plain is reduced to a state of cultivation, the greatest part
consisting of barren moor, producing only short heath,
or coarse benty grass. The land under cultivation is
very fertile, partly a rich loam or clay, and partly a
light, black, or sandy soil. The climate is wholesome
and mild. In the marshy parts both of this and the
parish of Duffus, agues were common about 30 years ago,
but have for some time past been totally unknown.
State of Property. — Mr. Brander of Pitgaveny is the
proprietor of the eastern quarter of the parish, the lands
of Kinedur (in Gaelic, Cean-na-dur, the head in the
water), the valued rent of which is £831 12s. 8d. Scots,
and not quite £500 sterling of real rent. The rest of the
parish, except the village of Lossymouth, is the property
of Alex. Penrose Cuming Gordon of Altyr, Esq., the valued
rent of which is £2213 4s. 8d. Scots : being a great part
of the estate of Gordonstown ; the family seat being near
HOUSE OF GORDONSTOWN; THE INNESES OF DRAINIE. 5/
the western end of the parish, a great heavy square
building, said to be in the Dutch style. A considerable
part of the inside has never been finished. The approach
is a straight road between square enclosures and planta-
tions, with an artificial pond upon one side, about 300
yards in length and 20 in breadth, with a little stagnant
water spread over its miry bottom. The offices are built
round a court perfectly circular, occupying one acre of
ground, and the pavement of the court regularly concave.
Some parts of this building are two stories high, which is
supposed to be the cause that in windy weather there
is no shelter within the court. This form of building
offices appears to be commodious, but has not been
imitated.
The real rent of the estate in this parish is about £800
sterling.
The farms in general are small, there being only 3 that
much exceed the extent of 100 acres ; their number in
whole is 68. The land rent, when paid in grain, is from
a boll to a boll and an half of bear or oats the Scots acre ;
but it is the practice to give 5 firlots of oats for the boll,
nearly equal to the English quarter; when let for money,
the acre gives from 15s. to 21s. Over a great part of the
estate of Gordonstown, the tithes of corn were drawn in
kind, the tenth sheaf being taken off the field by the pro-
prietor. This was accounted equal to the third part of
the rent, but it has of late been given up.
[The lands of Drainie were granted by Patrick Hep-
burn, Bishop of Moray, with consent of the Chapter, on
16th May, 1545, to James Innes and Catherine Gordon, his
spouse. Robert Innes of Drainie, great-grandson of the
above James, sold his paternal estate, including Salterhill,
on 20th Oct., 1636, to Sir Robert Gordon, son of Alexander,
Earl of Sutherland, who, in the course of six or seven
years had the whole of Ogstori, Pathnik, Burnside, and
Plewland added to the Gordonstown estate. From the
family of Innes of Drainie (1st, James ; 2nd, Robert, his
son ; 3rd, James, his son ; 4th, Robert, his son, who sold
the estate) were descended the Inneses of Drumgask,
Balnacraig, and Ballogie, in Aberdeenshire. The}7 were
strict Roman Catholics, and many of them Priests. Of
this family was the Rev. Thomas Innes (born 1662, died
1744) the learned author of a Critical Essay on the His-
58 MAUSOLEUM OF THE FAMILY OF GORDONSTON, OGSTON.
tory and Antiquities of Scotland, published in 1729, and
of a Civil and Ecclesiastical Histoi^y of Scotland.
The lands of Salterhill, formerly called Little Drainie,
were granted by Patrick, Bishop of Moray, with consent
of the Chapter, 24th Jan., 1547, to Patrick Kinnaird.
His grandson, Patrick Kinnaird of Salterhill, sold the
lands, in 1615, to James Innes of Drainie, whose son and
successor sold his paternal estate to Sir Robert Gordon, as
mentioned above.] (ED.)
State Ecclesiastical. — The parishes of Kineadur and
Oguestown were annexed in the year 1666, about which
time the Church was built, not in the most centrical
situation of the present parish. The patronage is a per-
tinent of the estate of Gordonstown. The stipend, in-
cluding the allowance for the Communion, is 72 bolls
barley and oats, and X52 10s. sterling. The manse and
glebe, which is about 5 acres, are at Kineadur, a mile
eastward from the Church. At this place also is the
burying-ground of the old parish, where the vestiges of
the Castle, where the Bishop resided before that of Spynie
was built, still remain. The burial-ground is also con-
tinued in the parish of Oguestown, where a magnificent
tomb in the Gothic style is raised over the vault of the
family of Gordonstown.*
* On a rising ground, immediately to the eastward of the
House of Gordonston, stood the Parish Church of Ogston, with
its old churchyard. On the site of the old church, in the year
1705, Dame Elizabeth Dunbar, widow of Sir Robert Gordon,
3rd Baronet of Gordonston, nicknamed " the Warlock," erected
an elegant mausoleum to the memory of her husband, who had
died the previous year, and to his predecessors in the estate.
She was the only child and heiress of Sir William Dunbar of
Hempriggs, by whom she had three sons and four daughters.
She married for her second husband the Hon. James Suther-
land, second son of James, second Lord Duffus, by whom she
had also a family. He assumed the name of Dunbar, and was-
created a Baronet, and the large estates of the Dunbar family
in Caithness were settled on the heir-males of the second
marriage.
There are various monuments in the mausoleum besides the
tablet of the family of Gordonston. The Altyre family has
been interred here since the death of Sir Alexander Penrose
Gordon Cuming in 1806. (ED.)
BISHOP BAR'S PROCESS ANENT THE PORT OF ELGIN. 59"
At the Parochial School there are about 60 scholars
instructed in writing, arithmetic, reading English and
Latin. The school salary is 12 bolls of barley, and £3
sterling from the office of Session-clerk, besides the other
perquisites and fees of parochial schools.
The fund for the provision of the poor does not exceed
£20 sterling yearly ; from which the salary of the clerk
and beadle being deducted, the balance contributes to the-
support of about 50 poor. The whole inhabitants are
members of the Established Church, amounting to
about 1040.
Miscellaneous Information. — The village of Lossie-
mouth is the harbour of the town of Elgin. A Process
carried on by Bishop Bar, respecting the right of this
port, was incidentally mentioned at pages 337, 338, vol.
I. It appears to have been begun by his lordship's
arresting a ship, the property of two of the burgesses.
The narrative in the 92nd fol. of the Chart Mor. sets
forth, " That on Sunday the 7th of June, while the Lord
Bishop was passing from his castle at Kineadur towards
the Church of Urquhart, through his water of Lossie, at
the ford called Krannokissi, he found a certain barque,,
namely " Farcost," lying in his said water, near the sea; to
which coming, he asked at the only person who was found
on board what the ship was called, to whom it appertained,
and by whose permission it had entered that water, who-
replied, The barque "Farcost" was John de Lany's, and had
entered there by the burgesses of Elgin; to whom the
Bishop said, that neither the burgesses, nor any other,,
could grant such authority or permission, for that water
and the whole channel was the property of the Church
of Moray, and appertained to him, and to no other person,
and on that account desired that a pledge might be given
him in name of arresting the said barque. That a little
axe was handed to the Lord Bishop, which, as only a
pledge, the seaman requested, in name of his master,,
might be returned, which the Bishop granted on the con-
dition of its being restored upon demand.
" Likewise on the same day, in the year 1383, in the
month above-mentioned, the same Bishop, returning by
the same road, found at the said barque certain burgesses
of Elgin, namely Philip Byset and Henry Porter, taking
60 BISHOP BAR ESTABLISHES HIS CLAIM.
out of the ship some barrels of ale, and some sacks of
tallow, and some of meal of wheat, together with horses
and sledges standing upon his ground of Kineadur,
which, together with the ship, he by his own proper
authority arrested, as unwarrantably encroaching upon
his Church lands, and gave up the same in pledge, at the
instance of the said Philip requesting it, in the name of
the community of his burgh, to be remitted to the said
Bishop at his Cathedral, upon eight days' requisition,
there to receive the issue and termination which the laws
have been in use to grant."
It must be presumed, that the Bishop prevailed in
establishing his claim, which accordingly became a per-
tinent of the estate of Kineadur, and was only purchased
by the magistracy of Elgin in the year 1698. In the
Conveyance it is described as a piece of waste, barren, un-
manured ground, and was nearly 80 acres of naked gravel
and sand, with an allowance on the quarries of the
Goulard, for the restricted purpose of building and up-
holding the pier, and for the accommodations requisite for
the town of Lossiemouth ; for which the community
became bound to pay yearly £2 Is. 7d., subjecting the
inhabitants of Lossiemouth to be poinded for any arrears
that may be incurred ; and to the courts of the superior,
which he may hold either in the town or at the Burn of
Kineadur, for any riot happening either among them-
selves or with the superior's tenants of the barony ; and
to send a burgess of Elgin yearly to the head court, upon
the first Thursday after Michaelmas, to answer in their
name ; and to allow the accommodation of the harbour to
all ships and fishing boats appertaining to the superior, or
freighted by any merchant upon his account, or employed
by him for exportation or importation, without payment
of any dues to the community. Besides irregular streets
fronting towards the sea, the town is laid out into four
principal streets at right angles to the shore, each 42 feet
wide, and commodious lanes cutting across the streets,
equal to half their breadth, with a handsome square and
cross in the midst. There are 175 feus marked off on the
plan, each 120 by 180 feet, granted for the duty of 5s.
each ; but many remain to be taken, and many that have
been granted are not J7et built ; but a number also of
handsome houses of two and three stories, containing
HARBOUR OF LOSSIEMOUTH, AND EXPORTS. Gl
more than 200 inhabitants, have been erected. The har-
bour is sufficiently commodious for vessels about 80 tons
burden. The community say that, prior to the year 1780,
£1200 sterling had been expended in the formation of the
quay ; since that time a pier opposite on the other side
the river, for clearing out the sand off the bar, has been
erected at the expense of £2000 sterling, from the funds
of the town, aided by private subscription and a donation
of £200 sterling from the Convention of Burghs. The
land end of this new pier was left unfinished, and unable
to withstand the violence of winter storms. So much
unheeded ruination has befallen it that £200 sterling at
present would be insufficient to prevent its accelerating
subversion. There is only one sloop and two fishing
boats belonging to Lossiemouth ; but during one year 41)
vessels from 55 to 60 tons arrived, of which loaded witli
English coals were 20 ; Scots coals, 6 ; London goods, 10 ;
Leith goods, 4 ; tanner's bark, 3 ; native salt, 2 ; bottles,
slates, iron, lime, each one, 4 ; total, 49.
The exports were 20 cargoes barley and oats, each at
an average about 400 bolls, and an inconsiderable quan-
tity of peltry. There are two other creeks in the parish,
Stotfield and Covesea, which admit boats. On the estate
of Kineadur are 3 fishing boats, each yielding a yearly
rent of £5 sterling ; but every seventh year the landlord
is obliged to furnish a new boat, which, rigged complete,
costs about £20 sterling. The fish commonly caught are
cod, scate, hollibut, haddocks, whitings, saiths, and crabs,
but none in greater quantity than serves the consumption
of the country. Of late, however, a lobster fishery has
been undertaken in the bay of Stotfield by an English
Company for the London market, to which they are
transported alive, in wells formed in the bottom of the
ships, which communicate directly with the sea water.
60,000 were in this manner conveyed the first summer,
without any other precaution except tying their claws to
their sides. They are caught by bait in small iron traps,
though a simple invention, yet never used before on
this coast.
In the Goulard Hill there are appearances of lead ;
many detached masses of ore are to be seen in the nor-
thern side of the hill, where the rock is limestone. Some
adventurers, however, from England, several years ago,
<)2 COULARD HILL; GOTHIC RUIN ON COVESEA SHORE.
after expending about £500, could discover no vein worth
working. But the greater part of the Goulard, with
almost the whole of the ridge along the Covesea shore,
•consists of one uninterrupted mass of freestone, lying in
horizontal strata, differing in thickness and in hardness ;
one kind being white, of a smooth, compact, and firm
substance, yet readily yielding to the hammer or the
chise} ; the other kind more brown or yellow, softer and
more friable. There are about 20 masons and nearly 40
labourers constantly employed in quarrying and cutting
.stone to supply the demand from this and the neighbour-
ing countries. The western part of this ridge, upon the
Covesea coast, forms a very bold shore. The penetrating
power of the surge in winter storms, with the reiterated
play of the ocean, and the various whirl of the rebound-
ing wave upon the projecting cliffs of the freestone rock,
have formed several detached pyramids, towers, and arches,
of various height and form, in some places resembling the
broken, shapeless windows in a Gothic ruin, having the
sea boiling round their bases at each flow of the tide.
Under this hill also there is a number of caverns of
whose formation it is difficult to conjecture the origin,
without supposing the sea at some period to have been so
much higher on the coast as to have in secret wrought
out the softer materials, which might have originally
filled these shapeless vacuities. They all open directly to
the sea ; and it is likely that some of them may extend
back to the land side of the hill, as their dark recesses
have never been explored. Some of them are lofty even
from the entrance, and their bounds everywhere readily
determinable ; others, with a low entrance, become
gloomily lofty, and uncomfortably damp within ; others
are low, dismal, dark, and damp, throughout all their
windings. Neither the floor or roof of any are on the
same level ; some of the lightest are used as a shelter by
the stone-cutters, both from the heat and rain, and are in
part filled by the chips and fragments. One of them was
occupied as a stable to conceal the horses of the family of
Gordonstown from the rebels in the year 1745, and has
the entrance built up into a neat door. Another, behind
the village of Lossiemouth, had in ancient times been
formed into a small hermitage, not exceeding 12 feet
square. It was completed by a handsome Gothic door
ST. GERNADIUS' WELL AND HERMITAGE AT COVESEA. 63
and window, and commanded a long but a solitary view
along the eastern shore. These artificial decorations were
torn down about 30 years ago, by a rude shipmaster ; and
in the course of working the quarries, the whole cave has
been destroyed.
There was a fountain in the rock above the hermitage,
called St. Gerard ine's [Gernadius'J Well ; but neither this
nor any other spring in the parish has acquired fame
for medicinal virtue.
The inhabitants, like all others employed in husbandry,
are robust and healthy. They are in general a sober,
honest, peaceable people, regular in their attendance on
the ordinances of religion, rather grave than lively, sel-
dom indulging themselves in any relaxation or diversion.
Crimes of enormity are unknown among them ; but this
regularity of conduct must be in part ascribed to the
poverty and depression of the people ; for the situation of
the smaller tenants in general is not comfortable. Few of
them have any capital to set them out into the world,
and fewer have the inclination or the means of adopting
the modern improvements of husbandry, while the rents
and the wages of servants have of late been considerably
advanced. The women spin linen yarn, by which, with
the greatest application, they can only earn 3d. by the
day. Even this yarn, what is necessary for home con-
sumption excepted, is exported unwrought to Edinburgh,
Glasgow, or the north of England.] (Survey of the Pro-
vince of Moray.)
THE FAMILY OF GOKDONSTOUN.
Sir Bobert Gordon, the first of Gordonstoun,
was second son of Alexander, 15th Earl of Suther-
land. He was a gentleman much and deservedly
respected. [In May, 1625, he was created a
Knight Baronet of the Order of Nova Scotia,
with precedence of all the Knights of that Order.
He was a bearer of the King's train at the Coron-
ation, High Sheriff of Inverness, a Commissioner
to Zetland, and historian of the House of Suther-
64 THE FAMILY OF GORDONSTON.
land.] In the year 1606 he was made Gentleman
of the King's Bed-chamber, with a pension of
£200 for life. In the year 1634 he was appointed
one of, the Lords of the Privy Council of King
Charles I., and by the Parliament 1642 was
made a Privy Counsellor for life. He married,
in 1613, Louisa, only child of John Gordon, Lord
of Glenluce, and Dean of Salisbury, by whom he
had Ludovick his heir, Eobert, ancestor of the
Gordons of Clunie, and two daughters; Katharine
married to Colonel David Barclay of Urie, by
whom she was mother of the ingenious author
of the Apology for the Quakers ; and Jean mar-
ried to Sir Alexander M'Kenzie of Coull. (2.)
Sir Ludovick Gordon of Gordonstoun, Baronet
[was educated in Holland and], succeeded his
father, Sir Eobert, in 1656 [and ornamented the
estate with canals, terraces, and avenues]. He
married Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of Sir
Robert Farquhar of Mounie, by whom he had
Eobert, his heir [four sons], and three daughters ;
Lucy, married first to Eobert Cumine of Altyre ;
secondly, to Alex. Dunbar of Moy ; Katherine
married to Thomas Dunbar of Grange ; and
Elizabeth married to Eobert Dunbar of West-
field. They all had issue. (3.) Sir Eobert
Gordon succeeded his father, Sir Ludovick. By
his lady, Elizabeth, only daughter of Sir William
Dunbar of Hemprigs, he had Sir Robert, his heir,
and a daughter, Lucy, married to David Scott of
SIR ROBERT GORDON, FIFTH BART. OF GORDONSTON. 65
Scotstarvet, Esq. (4.) Sir Eobert succeeded his
father in 1701. He married Agnes, only daugh-
ter of Sir William Maxwell of Calderwood, by
whom he had two [four (?)] sons, Eohert and
William, and a daughter, Christian, who died
young. (5.) Sir Robert Gordon, the 5th Baronet
of Gordonstoun, succeeded his father, Sir Robert,
in 1772. [He died a bachelor in 1776, and was.
succeeded by his brother, William, who settled
his estate on Gumming of Altyre. He died a
bachelor in 1795, when the title devolved upon
Sir James Gordon of Letterfourie, and the estates
fell to Sir Alexander Penrose Gordon Gumming
of Altyre.]— Ed.
Arms of the family of Gordonstoun. Quarterly 1st and 4th
grand quarters, the quartered coat of Gordon, 2nd and 3rd
Gules, three stars Or, all within a border of the last. In the
centre of the shield the badge of NOVA SCOTIA. Crest, a cat,
a mountain saliant, argent, armed azure. Motto, SANS CRAINTE..
[Fearless.] Supporters on the dexter, a deerhound argent,
collared Gules, and thereon three buckles Or. And in the
finister, a savage wreathed about the head and middle with
laurel proper.
In the year 1621 Sir William Alexander of
Menstry undertook to plant a colony in Nova
Scotia, in North America, and was joined in that
undertaking by the Earls Marshal, Melrose, and
Niddisdale, Viscount Dupplin, and the lairds of
Lochinvar, Lesmore, Clunie, and Gordonstoun.
For their encouragement the King granted them
severally large districts of land in that country,
and proposed to create a new title of honour that
VOL. II. 5
66 HONOURS AND PRIVILEGES OF SCOTTISH KNIGHTS.
should be hereditary. This Order was erected in
1625, and Sir Eobert Gordon is the first Knight
of it, whose Patent beareth date at Whitehall the
28 May, 1625.
Knights Baronets.
Having perused this Patent, I shall set down
the honours and privileges granted to Knights
in Scotland, and (1.) In all writings they are
styled Knights and Baronets. (2.) In addressing
them, they are called Sir. (3.) Their wives have
the honour of Lady. (4.) They have precedency
of all Knights, Lairds, Esquires, and Gentlemen,
except the King's Commissioners, Counsellors,
and Knights Bannerets, dubbed in the field of
war under the Eoyal Standard, Rege Presents.
(N.B.—The Order of the Thistle or St. Andrew
was not revived at that time.) (5.) Their wives,
sons, daughters, and sons' wives have precedency
as themselves have. (6.) Their eldest sons, when
21 years of age, in their father's life, shall receive
the honour of Knighthood, if they ask it, upon pay-
ing only the fees of the servants. (7.) In Eoyal
armies they shall have place near to the Royal
Standard. (8.) No other degree of honour shall
ever be created betwixt them and Lords, nor any
degree equal to them and inferior to Lords. (9.)
The honour is by patent under the Great Seal,
and hereditary as that of Peerage. (10.) There
shall not be in Scotland at any one time more
A HUNDRED AND FIFTY KNIGHTS ONLY FOR SCOTLAND. 67
than 150 such Knights. (11.) They may bear the
arms of NOVA SCOTIA in a Canton, or Shield of
pretence ; and the same enamelled on an oval
medal of gold on their breasts, hanging at a broad
orange ribband round their necks ; as by Koyal
Warrant from King Charles I. dated at Whitehall
17 November, 1629, and recorded in the Lord
Lyon's Eegisters. (12.) They are allowed two
gentlemen-assistants of their body, ad support-
andum velamen (to bear their robe) ; and at their
funerals they are allowed one principal mourner
and four assistants.
Besides these privileges common to the Order,
Sir Eobert Gordon's Patent beareth, That he is
the First Knight in the Order, and that no one
has had, or ever shall have, the precedency of
him. And he had 16,000 acres of land in Nova
Scotia disponed to him and his heirs, with ample
privileges. The like privileges had also the rest
of the Baronets, till the French took possession
of that province ; after which there is no mention
of lands in any of the Patents.
The arms of this Order are : — An escutcheon arg. charged
with a saltire, az. The field and cross of St. Andrews, the
tinctures counterchanged, and thereon the Royal Arms of
Scotland, with an imperial crown above this last shield. Motto,
FAX MENTIS HONESTY GLORIA. [Glory is the torch of an
honourable spirit] This (without the motto) may be placed in
a canton, or a shield in surtout.
68 PROPRIETORS OF KING'S THIRD OF DUFFUS.
Ettles and Covesea.
[" The lands of Ettles and fyshing, called the Coissey,"
were granted by Patrick, Bishop of Moray, to Thomas
Innes of Pethnick and Elizabeth Norie, his spouse, and to
the heirs-male of the said Thomas. The Charter is dated
at Elgin and Drainie the 8th and 18th May, 1561, and is
signed by the Bishop and twelve of the Canons of the
Cathedral, their seals being also appended. Thomas
Innes of Pethnick, grandson of the above Thomas, sold
the lands and fishings on the 17th September, 1638, to
Sir Robert Gordon.
Names of the Inneses of Pethnick.
1st, Thomas ; 2nd, Alexander, his son ; 3rd, Thomas, his
son, who sold Ettles and Covesea.
Kvng's Third of Duffus.
The changes of proprietors on this estate will be best
shown by the following titles : —
1. Charter of alienation by Archibald Douglas of Pitten-
dreich, in favour of Alexander Gordon of Sydra (Sidderay in
Sutherland), and Margaret Keith, his spouse, of the third of
Duffus, dated 21st May, 1603. The sasine following thereupon
is dated 24th May same year.
2. Charter granted by Archibald Douglas of Pittendreich, in
favour of Alexander Keith, lawful son of Mr. John Keith,
Rector of Duffus, of the third of Blackgate ; third of Starwood ;
third of Inchkeil; third of Roseisle, with the milns thereof;
third of Burghsea ; third of Bagro ; third of Burnside ; third
of Over and Nether Crookmuirs ; and third of Sheriffmill, with
the astricted multures thereof, dated 24th May, 1603. The
seisin following thereon is of same date.
3. Bond of alienation, Alexander Gordon of Sydra, and
Margaret Keith, his spouse, in favour of Sir Robert Gordon, of
the third part of the Kirktoun of Duffus, Crosslots, and Salt-
cots, dated 2nd June, 1629. The seisin following thereupon
is dated 6th June same year.
4. Minute of .sale, dated llth June, 1647, at Inverurie, by
Alexander Keith of Midbeltie, son of the deceased Alexander
Keith, portioner of Duffus, in favour of Sir Robert Gordon, of
his share of the King's Third of Duffus, and third of Sheriff-
mill, and of the Outletmill.
5. Contract of sale betwixt Sir Ludovick Gordon, his son,
FORTALICE OF THE BOG OF PLEWLAND. 69
and Eobert Sutherland in Burghsea, whereby, for £2,830 Scots,
they dispone the lands of Easter Inchkeil, and third of the
Burgh, to the said Robert Sutherland, 9th March, 1670.
Ogston and Pleiuland.
The lands of Ogston and Plewland are the particular
part of the estate of Gordonstown where the venerable
mansion-house stands. Before the Gordons purchased
the estate it was called the Bog of Plewland, and no
doubt was a fortalice, built in the marsh for defence. The
estate was long held in property by the Hogstouns, or
Ogstons of that ilk ; from them it passed to the Inneses
of Innes and Balveny, thereafter to the Marquis of Huntly,
and from the Marquis was purchased by Sir Robert
Gordon on 13th September, 1638. The following curious
inventory of titles, as well as the references to the other
portions of the estate of Gordonstown, were communidated
to me by a friend, to whom I am indebted for many
similar favours : —
The Inventor of the wrytes of Hogstoune and Plewlands,
delyverit be Robert Innes, then of Innermarkie, nowe of
Balveny, to ane nobill and potent Lord George, Marquis of
Huntlye, at Plewlandis the 7th of Februar, 1616 yeiris.
Imprimis, Ane charter given be Marjerie Countess of Murraye,
to Jhon Hogstoune of that ilk, sone and lawfull air to Sir
Rannald Hogstoune, his father, daitit at Bamf, 6th May, 1417.
Item, Ane precept of seasing of Allexander Hogstoune of
that ilk, given to James Innes of that ilk, upon the landis of
Hogstoune, of the dait, at Aberdeen, 29th December, 1473.
Item, Ane reversion given be the said James Innes of that
ilk, to the said Allexander Hogstoune of that ilk, of the dait
forsaid.
Item, Ane license given be the King to Allexander Hogs-
toune of that ilk, fra him and his airis, all and haill, the lands
of Hogstoune, to whatsoever persone he pleasis, to be halden
of himselfFe.
Item, The gift of nonentrie, given to Alexander Livingstoune
of Dunnipeass, upon the landis of Hogstoune, and Plewlandis,
of the dait at Pearth, 15th March, 1527.
Item, Ane seasing of James Innes of that ilk, given to Allex-
ander Hogstoune of that ilk, upon the landis of Hogstoune,
dated 12th Jannuar, 1473.
Item, Ane seasing of Elizabeth Lady Hogstoune, upon the
landis of Hogstoune and Plewlandis, given upon ane precept,
dated 8th Jaunuar, 1501.
70 INVENTORY OF THE LANDS OF OGSTON
Item, Ane resignation, in the Kingis handes, of the landis of
Hogstoune and Plewlandis, be Elizabeth Hogstoune, with con-
sent of hir husband, Adam Habroune, daitit at Edinburgh,
llthMaij, 1501.
Item, Ane instrument, wher Adam Habroune was requyrit
to enter Robert Innes of Innermarkie in the landis of Hogs-
toune, daitit 6th May, 1509.
Item, Ane precept of seasing, given out of the Chancellrie,
to Robert Innes of Innermarkie, and Elizabeth Stuart, his
spouse, in lyfrent, and to Robert Innes of Monikebback, his
sone, appeirand air heritabille of the landis of Hogstoune and
Plewlandis, united in one barrony, daitit at Dundee, 1st
September, 1539.
Item, The charter of union, whereupone the forsaid precept
was given under the Grayt Seall, of the landis of Hogstoune
and Plewlandis, of the dait of the said precept.
Item, The seasing following upone the said charter, of the
dait 4th November, 1539.
Item, The service of Adam Habroun's three daughters, Janat,
Helein, and Isobell, before the Shirreffe of Elgin, daitit the
penult of Februar, 1527.
Item, Ane charter of Andro Oliphant of Berridel, sone and
air of umqll. Christen Suderland of Berridel, given to William
Suderland of Duifus, of the third pairt of the landis of Plew-
landis, of the dait at Edinburgh, 10th November, 1528.
Item, Ane precept of seasing, passit thereupone.
Item, Ane instrument taine be Robert Innes, in the handis
of Mr. William Jamisone, notar, daitit 1st September, 1539.
Item, Ane resignation of Elizabeth Habroune, eldest daughter,
and ane of the heiris, of Adam Habroune of Craigies, and
spouse to Mr. Alexander Livingstoune of Dunnipeass, of the
landis of Hogstoune and Plewlandis, in the Kingis hands, in
favours of Robert Innes of Innermarkie, and Elizabeth Stuart,
his spousse, and to Robert Innes of Monykebbock, their sone
and appeirand air, daitit at Inglismaldie, 15th August, 1539.
Item, Ane sasine given be Robert Innes of Innermarkie, and
his spouse, Elizabeth Stuart, and his son, of Monykebbock,
upon the landis of Hogestoun and Plewlandis, under the
subscription of Mr. William Jamisone, notar, daitit 4th Nov.,
1539.
Item, Ane saising of Robert Innes of Innermarkie, guidsir
to Robert Innes, now of Balveny, of the landis of Hogstoune
and Plewlandis, under the subscriptione of Mr. Alexander
Dowglasse, notar, daitit 29th Maii, 1553.
Item, Ane instrument of saising to Robert Innes, father to
Robert Innes, now of Balveny, upon the landis of Hogestoun
AND PLEWLAND, NOW AT GORDONSTON HOUSE. 71
and Plewlandis, under the subscriptione of James Guthrie,
notar, 21st Maij, 1586.
Item, The Kingis confirmatione and ratificatione of ane
charter of alienatione, maid to Jeane Barclaye, Lady of Inner-
markie, to Eobert Innes, her sone, upon the landis of Plew-
landis and Hogestoune, daitit at Edinburgh, 1 607.
Item, The King's confirmation, containing ane novo damus
upon the landis of Hogstoune and Plewlandis, and Kirkhill of
Longbryde, to Robert Innes, now of Balveny, and Barbara
Burnet, his spouse, daitit at Edinburgh, 21st Februar, 1607.
Item, Ane tack of the teinds of Plewlandis and Hogstoune,
given be George Douglasse, Bishope of Murraye, with consent
of the Dean and Chapter, to Robert Innes of Innermarkie,
father to Robert Innes, now of Balveny, daitit at Spyny, the
first and last of Maij, 1585.
Item, Ane tack of the teind sheaves of Hogstoune and Plew-
landis, sett be Allexander Douglass, Bischope of Murraye, to
Robert Innes, now of Balveny, and to Barbra Burnet, his
spouse, in lyfrent, and nynteen yeir thereafter, daitit at Elgin,
10th Marche, 1607.
Item, Ane extract of ane proper contract between the Laird
of Innermarkie and the Laird of Innes, on the landis of Hogs-
toune and Plewlandis, and heirschipe of Innes, daitit at Edin-
burgh, 9th Marche, 1635.
Which haill wrytes, according to the inventer foresaid, sub-
scribit be us, George, Marquis of Huntlye, and Robert Innes
of Balvenye. We, George Marquis of Huntlye, grant us to
have receavit fra the said Robert, and bindis and oblissis us,
and our aires and successoures, to make patent and furthecom-
minge to the said Robert, his aires and successoures, for defence
of the saidis landis of Hogstoune and Plewlandis, as the said
Robert and his forsaidis sail be persewit for warranclice of the
said landis. In witness wherof we have subscribit thir presents,
at Plewlandis the 17th of Februar, Jmvic and sixteen yeires,
befor thir witnes, ALLEXANDER GORDON, Fiar of Strathawon ;
Mr. WILLIAM GORDON of Tilligrigie; JAMES GORDON, in
Letterfurie ; and Mr. ALEXANDER INNES of Dalliestennie.
(Sic subscribitur), HUNTLYE.
ROBERT INNES of Balvenie.
A. GORDOUN, Witnes.
J. GORDOUN, Witnes.
The original Document is at Gordonstown, and the
Minute of Contract of sale by which the Marquis of
Huntly sold these lands to Sir Robert Gordon, dated 13th
September, 1638, is also there. The Marquis subsequently
72 ANCIENT CROSS AT KINNEDAR.
sold to Sir Robert the lands of Balorinie, which his Lord-
ship seems to have purchased in 1615 from the Douglasses
of Whittingham.] (Young's Parish of Spynie.)
EPITAPHS IN THE CHURCHYARD OF KINNEDAR.
Like Birnie, Kinnedar was one of the early residences
and churches of the Bishops of Moray. It was a parson-
age belonging to the Treasurer of the Diocese. Here is
an ancient Cross. The Bishop's residence was a castle, the
remains of which, close to the burial-ground, may yet be
discerned. It seems to have been their only residence
before the building of Spynie, as almost all the charters
are dated at " Kineder in Moravia " before the erection of
the great palace.
An interesting circumstance, the frequency of the
names Winchester and Wiseman on the stones, is worthy
of notice ; for in the Bishop's rental, 1565, of 10 tenants in
the Villa de Kynnedam are 5 Wisemans and 1 Winchester.
Richard Wiseman had also the Bishop's garden there for
a yearly rent of 8s. and 6 capons. As mentioned when
treating of Drainy, this parish was merged 1666.
Not only is the churchyard remarkable for its Cross,
but the immense number of stones is particularly worthy
of notice. Literally dozens of very old flat monuments
cover the surface. Scarcely any, in comparison to num-
bers, can be read, here a word and there another is all
that can be made out. They seem all to be inscriptions
running round the edge of the stone. No trace of the
old church remains, only the appearance of a deplessed
centre. (Rev. J. B. Craven.}
I son to Alex. Rushel, joyner, departed
15 June, 1676.
II. Here lyes to Wm. Young, in Newton,
1688.
III. Here lyes Janet Mavor, spouse to .... Winchester,
died the 20 March, 1689.
IV. Here lyes Christian spouse to Walter James,
indweller in Etis, she departed ....
V. Here lyes the body of Mitchell, some time dueller in
Plenton. He died the 15 day of May, 1706.
EPITAPHS IN THE CHURCHYARD OF KINNEDAR. 73
VI. Here lyes James Badon, some time Christian
James, his spouse.
J. B. C. F.
VII. Here lyes the dust of William Winchester, some time
du dyed the ... of Nov. ....
VIII. Here lyes the body of Alex. Stephen, some time
dualer in Kinedar. He died the 6 day of September, in the
year 1713.
IX. W. Y. A. Y. 1711.
X. Here lyes the body of Margaret Elies, spouse to James
Anderson, farmer in .... ned, who died January . . . 1715,
and their children, John and Jean Anderson, who died in their
nonage.
XI. Here lyes the body of John Anderson, some time
farmer in .... who died June 8, 1729, and his spouse,
Jean Baird.
XII. Here lyes the body of James Edwards his
spouse, some time duellers in Stotfield, 1713.
J. E. M. J.
XIII. Here lyes the body of Charley Anderson, some time
dweller in Aikenhead, who died the 24 of August, 1722.
XIV. Here lyes the body died the 1 1 day of the
1729 Anderson, his spouse, and their son, John Laing,
died Dec. 16, 1738, aged 28.
XV. Here lyes William Innes, skipper in Stotfield.
He died February, 1739.
XVI. Under this ston lyes the dust of Michael Findlay, who
was church officer in this parish of Kinedar, who departed this
life the 13 of October, 1745, aged 67.
XVII. This stone is erected in memory of William James,
farmer in Ardonit, who dyd Deer., 1753, and H . . . .
XVIII. Here lyes the body of Isobel Ritchie, spouse to
Peter Stuart, in Kinedar, who died August 23, 1739.
XIX. ..... James Brander, farmer in their son,
John Brander, he died August 6th, 1742, and Janet Brander,
who died Sept. the 5, 1768, aged 13 years.
J.B. G.B.
XX. Here lyes the body of James Edward, late skipper in
Stotfield, who dyed the 13 May, 1774, aged 72 years, and his
spouse, Jean Mitchell, dyed 25 May, 1765, aged 66 years.
74 MAUSOLEUM OF THE GORDONSTON FAMILY.
EPITAPHS IN THE CHURCHYARD OF OGSTON.
When you stand in the old churchyard of Drainy and
look up to the top of the little hill above it, you may see
a vane peeping out of the wooded summit. This is the
mausoleum of the Gordonston family, placed above what
was once the old church of Ogston. Undoubtedly we
owe to this burial-place the continuance of the very old
yard surrounding it. When you arrive at the top of the
hill, to which there is no proper road, and enter through
the trees, you find yourself at the gable end of the mauso-
leum. Very possibly others as well as I may go, never
thinking of finding anything more. Even the name has
been forgotten, and you are informed that it is Michael
Kirk. Whence this name is derived I know not, as the
Church was not dedicated to St. Michael but to St. Peter.
I was surprised to find not the vault only but several
huge ancient tombstones surrounding it ; though, from
there being no fence, it could scarcely be called a cemetery;
but when I next saw the fine old Cross standing alone, I
felt sure that this place was set apart for holy prayer long
before the earliest stone. Surely this must be Ogston, I
said to myself, but I had no direct information. I looked
up all the books in my possession and found no trace of
any remains of Ogston. Even one author seemed to say
that this place was only for the Gordonstons' tomb.
Months afterward, however, I fell on the " Survey of
Moray," quoted before, and my delight was great when I
saw there, " The burial-ground is also continued in the
parish of Oguestown, where a magnificent tomb in the
Gothic style is raised over the vault of the family of
Gordonstown." The identity was complete and I was
now at no difficulty to name this very ancient, dilapidated,,
and deserted churchyard. One might think the noble
family ought to preserve these venerable relics better ; for
when wishing to copy the inscriptions on the old stones I
found it at first impossible, for the simple reason that
perhaps, when the last burial had taken place, the turf
sod had been conveniently placed on the top of the stones
where the inscriptions were, and it was only with difficulty
that those could be cleared off; for, so firmly fixed was the
matter into the turf, that when at last I had them off, the
stones seemed as if they had only been carved lately, and
ST. GERARDINE ; MENSAL CHURCH OF OGSTON. 75
the sods themselves might have served the purpose of a
plaster cast.
We have already spoken of the holy St. Gernadius who
in the shire not far off loved and taught the people. A
few particulars, all indeed we know surely of his history,
has to be added. The author of the "Survey" says a
cave " behind the village of Lossiemouth had, in ancient
times, been formed into a small hermitage, not exceeding
12 feet square. It was completed by a handsome Gothic
door and window, and commanded a long but a solitary
view along the eastern shore. These artificial decorations
were torn down about 80 ye&rs ago (1760) by a rude
shipmaster ; and in the course of working the quarries the
whole cave has been destroyed. There was a fountain in
the rock above the hermitage, called St. Gerardine's Well."
This interesting account corresponds exactly with the
" Aberdeen Breviary," which describes the holy saint to
have lived between Elgin and the sea in a cave partly
artificial, partly natural. Were the Crosses at Kinnedar
and Ogston the places where he preached to the people
here ? He was celebrated in the Scottish Church on the
8th November.
It was a mensal church, and one of the smallest vicar-
ages in the Deanery of Elgin. Indeed so small was it
then, in 1642, it was disunited from St. Andrews, both
before having been served by one vicar, " that the Bishop
might draw more teinds," as Shaw somewhat uncharitably
says. This was nothing but an offensive remark, which
he might have left out of his book, as it was entirely
groundless ; for the author of the " Survey " tells us a cir-
cumstance which shows the real state of matters. When
the lake of Spynie was being cleared off "a causeway
emerged, formed of freestone from the quarry, quite across
the lake, with openings for the passage of the water, each
about 3 feet wide, covered with broad flag-stones. This
revived the recollection of a circumstance there almost
forgotten, that the causeway was called the Bishop's
Steps, and had been formed by his order to allow his
vicar to get from St. Andrews after the service of the
forenoon to officiate at Oguestown on the evening of each
Sunday." Expense, therefore, could not have been the
motive, but probably the scarcity of preachers was. These
parishes were united from the Reformation probably till
76 THE GORDONSTON MONUMENT, OGSTON.
1642, when they were annexed to Kinnedar. (Rev. J. B.
Craven.)
I. The Gordonstoun Monument, &c. : —
S D
17 RG ED 05
Here is a register of the age and death of considerable
persons of the family of Gordonstoun here interred : —
Dam Genewieu Petau, the daughter of Gideon Petau, Lord
of the Isle of France, widow of John Gordon, Lord of Glenluce
and Dean of Salisbury, and mother-in-law to Robert Gordon of
Gordonstoun, died December 6, 1643, in the 83 year of her
age. Sir Robert Gordon of Gordonstoun, son to the Earl of
Sutherland, by my Lady Jean Gordon, daughter to the Earl of
Huntly, died March, 1656, aged 77 years. D. Lucia Gordon,
his lady, daughter to John Gordon, Lord of Glenluce and Dean
of Salisbury, by D. Genewieu Pelau, died 7ber, 1680, aged 83
years. Mrs. Katherine Gordon, daughter of Sir Robert Gordon
of Gordonstoun, and spous to Collionel David Barclay of Urie,
died March, 1663, aged 43 years. Mr. Charles Gordon, son to
Sir Robert Gordon, died , 1674, aged 43 years. D.Jean
Gordon, daughter to Sir Robert Gordon, and spouse to Sir
Alexander M'Kenzie of Coul, died , 1676, aged 43 years.
Mrs. Lucia Gordon, daughter to Sir Robert Gordon, died
before her father, unmarried, about ye 18 year of hir age. Sir
Ludovick Gordon of Gordonstoun, son to Sir Robert Gordon,
by D. Lucia Gordon, died December 1668, aged 63 years. D.
Elizabeth Farquhar, his 1st lady, daughter to Sir Robert
Farquhar of Menie, by D. Elizabeth Buck, died November,
1661, aged 38 years. Mrs. Anna Gordon, daughter to Sir
Ludovick Gordon, died unmarried. Alexander Gordon, son to
Sir Ludovick Gordon, died 1666. Benjamin Gordon, son to
Sir Ludovick Gordon, died 1662. Ludovick Gordon, son to
Sir Ludovick Gordon, died Sher, 1696, aged 43 years. Sir
Robert Gordon of Gordonstoun, son to Sir Ludovick Gordon,
by D. Elizabeth Farquhar, died 5 of Sher, 1704, aged 57 years.
D. Margaret Forbes, his 1st lady, daughter to my Lord Forbes,
by Mrs. Jean Campbell, his spouse, 1677. William Gordon,
vson to Sir Robert Gordon, by Elizabeth Dunbar, daughter to
Sir William Dunbar of Hempriggs, died 18 March, 1701.
Mrs. Margaret Gordon, daughter to Sir Robert Gordon, by D.
Elizabeth Dunbar, died 16 March, 1703, aged 10 years. Mrs.
Katherine Gordon, daughter to Sir Robert Gordon, by D.
Elizabeth Dunbar, died 18 March, 1705, aged 39 years. Mrs.
Elizabeth Gordon, daughter to Sir Robert Gordon, by D.
EPITAPHS IN OGSTON CHURCHYARD. 77
Elizabeth Dunbar, died 8 December, 1705. Lucy, daughter of
Sir Robert Gordon and Dame Elizabeth Dunbar, married David
Scott of Scotstarvet. Sir Robert Gordon, son of Sir Robert
Gordon and Dame Elizabeth Dunbar, born 1696, died 1772 ;
married, 1734, Agnes, daughter of Sir William Maxwell of
Calderwood, Baronet. Dame Agnes Maxwell died at Lossie-
mouth llth March, 1808. Sir Robert Gordon, eldest son of
Sir Robert Gordon and Dame Agnes Maxwell, born 1736, died
unmarried 2nd June 1776. He was succeeded by his brother,
Sir William Gordon, born 1738, died in Edinburgh unmarried
5th March, 1795. Lewis and John, younger sons, left no issue.
A daughter, Christian, died young.
II. The Gordonstoun Monument, No. 2 : —
In memory of those of the family of Altyre, whose mortal
remains lie in the vault beneath. Sir. Alex. Penrose Gumming
Gordon, Bt., born 19 May, 1749, m. 9th Sept., 1773. Helen,
5th daughter of Sir Ludovick Grant of Grant, Bt., by Lady
Margaret Ogilvie, eldest daughter of James, Earl of Findlater
and Seafield, succeeded to the Gordonstoun estates on the
death of Sir William Gordon, Bart., 1794, died 11 Feby., 1804.
Dame Helen, his spouse, born 29 May, 1754, died 1 January,
1832. They had issue, 7 sous and 9 daughters, of whom Jane,
Mary, and Amelia, lie in the vault beneath.
III. Here lyes ane honest man, called James Dick, mason,
sumtym indualler in Rewland, who departed this mortail lyf
the 9 of Agyest, 1661.
IV. Here lyes the body of John Dick, mason, who lived in
Pleuland, and died the 22 of Jully, 1692 ; and Christian Innes,
his spous, died the 7 of July, 1694; and their son, John Dick,
who died Feb. 1727.
V. Here lyes Christian Dick, spouse to Alex. Sinclair, mason,
Causea, who departed this life the last of October, the year of
God 1697.
VI. Here lyes the body of James Chalmer, sometime Causea.
He died the 18 of December, 1706, and his spouse, Margaret
Neillson.
VII. John Macdonald. Elspet Robertson. 1740.
THE PAEISH OF DUFFUS
(Dubh-uis, i.e., black or stagnating water) lieth
west of Kinnedar, between the Loch of Spynie
78 THE CHURCH, HOUSE AND FORT OF DUFFUS.
and the sea. It extendeth about 3 miles from
east to west, and 1 mile from south to north.
The Church standeth in the east end, a mile
west of Kinnedar, 1J miles north-west of New
Spynie, and 3 miles north-east of Alves. The
whole parish (except a small feu pertaining to
Sutherland of Keam) is the property of the Duke
of Gordon, Sir Robert Gordon of Gordonston,
and of Alexander Dunbar of Thunderton. This
last has far the greater share, and resides here.
His seat is close by the Church. The house is
neat, convenient, and well finished, and the gar-
dens, avenues, and enclosures are well laid out.
A half mile south-east stood the house and
fort of old Duffus (Vid. Milit. Hist.), and 2 miles
west is the Burgh-head, a remarkable Danish
fort (Vid. Milit. Hist.), close by which is the
village of the Burgh-Sea, where Gordonston and
Thunderton have a good fishing of white fish,
upon which the town of Elgin have a servitude,
whereby the fish must be brought to their market.
Here about 300 people live by fishing, and have
no corn land and little garden ground. At this
village there is a good harbour for small craft.
And I cannot but observe that the people on the
coast westward having plucked up the bent-grass
on some small hills, the loose sand is driven so
thick by the west wind, that much land in Duffus
and Gordonston has been covered by it ; but of
late years there has not been much hurt done in
'THE PARISH OF DUFFUS. 79
this way, the strata on these hills becoming pro-
bably more firm, and the sanded land is again
tilled. In this parish there is much freestone
and rich quarries of limestone.
DUFFUS.
[Situation, Soil, Climate. — In every region of the earth
where the clime and soil do not spontaneously afford the
subsistence of man, it appears, by the earliest notices of
historj', that society was at first supported chiefly by the
means of hunting ; that from the hunter state they made
in general a sudden advance to that of the pastoral, indis-
pensable to the more perfect state of agriculture.
In a country so narrow as this, it may be presumed
that its different quarters, even in the hunter state, would
be distinguished by names, which, though not appropriate
now, have been without change preserved. The name of
Duffus, signifying in the Gaelic black water, carries back
the imagination to that early state of society when this
flat country was an uncultivated forest, almost everywhere
deformed by gloomy black pools of stagnate water. The
plain between the lake of Spynie and the sea, continued
for about 5 miles westward from Drainy, forms the whole
extent of the parish of Duffus. Since taking off the
water from the lake, it is extended about 3 miles in
breadth ; but the lake is not continued now far upon the
south side, and the ridge along the coast is stretched only
about one third of the length, westward of which the
shore is sandy and flat, raised only a few feet above the
level of the sea. Towards the midst both of the plain
and parish, at a little distance from the coast, the green
arable hill of Roseisle embellishes the landscape. It is
not doubted but the sea once communicated with the
lake, along the west and south sides of this eminence,
which then formed the termination of the isle, extended
eastward to the headland of the Goulard at Lossiemouth.
Along the coast, the whole length of the parish, for the
breadth of half a mile, may be considered as downs, the
soil sandy, mixed with stone, in some places rising in
green ridges, composed of limestone rock. Towards the
middle of this poor benty pasturage, between the hill of
80 STATE OF PROPERTY IN DUFFUS PARISH.
Roseisle and the sea, some detached fields are cultivated,
and one farm, of considerable extent, offers a solitary but
commodious and pleasing residence. The rest of the
parish is an unbroken arable field, for the greater part a
deep rich clay, of the same kind with the carse soil of
Gowrie or Falkirk, producing weighty crops of wheat,
pease, and beans. Towards its western end, the soil i?
black earth, very fertile, yielding crops of barley not to
be surpassed in earliness, quality, or increase in any part
of Scotland. In some places of this quarter the soil is so
mixed with sand as to be deprived of much of its fertility,
and a great proportion of it hath been deeply covered by
dry land, drifted almost ten miles from Coulbin, and its
cultivation by man for several generations suspended,
except a few small patches, which have of late been
recovered by bringing the soil above the sand by the
spade.
State of Property. — The valued rent of the parish,
amounting to £3,120 6s. Id. Scots, is shared among five
proprietors, of whom Sir Archibald Dunbar only is resi-
dent, in a handsome modern seat, placed in a small park,
sheltered on the north by the Church and the village of
Duffus, arid on the other three sides bounded by fields
and stripes of plantation. It commands an extensive
landscape, embellished by every rural- decoration. His
property in this parish is valued at £1,800 Scots.
A considerable part of the estate of Gordonstown, lately
augmented by the purchase of the lands of Roseisle, with
which a part of it lay blended, lies also in this parish,
amounting now to the valuation of £1,019 Scots.
Mr. Brander of Pitgaveny, as was observed, holds a
considerable part of the extent of this parish, but yet so
incompletely drained as not to admit of perfect cultiva-
tion. It is valued at £244- 18s. lid. Scots. The other
two properties are inconsiderable — the one belonging to
Mr. Baron Gordon of Clunie is valued at £36 7s. 2d.
Scots, and the other appertaining to Mr. Lewis Kay only
at £20. The farms are but of small extent, two only
exceed 100 acres. A great proportion of the parish is
rented at £1 sterling the acre, and the average equals
three-fourths of that rate.
State Ecclesiastical. — The Church is incommodiously
situated in the east end of a parish of such length. The
BURYING-GROUND AT BURGH-HEAD, DUFFUS. 81
Burying-place is a small square enclosure around the
Church, having a pretty broad road on each of its sides,
rather roughly causewayed, but the workmanship of a
party of soldiers who were stationed here by Cromwell.
The stipend, by decreet 1793, is 8 chalders of bear, and
£38 6s. 8d. sterling, including the allowance for the Com-
munion. The patronage has been in the possession of Sir
Archibald Dunbar and his authors since the year 1527.
With the fees for teaching already stated, and the statu-
tory salary as session-clerk, the schoolmaster has an
establishment of 7 bolls and nearly 3 firlots of bear, the
number of scholars amounting to about 50.
The only provision for the poor arises from the half-
pence contributed by the tenants and their families who
attend the Parochial Church, amounting to about £14?
sterling in the year, which, without expense to the heritors,
contributes to the subsistence of about 60 indigent persons,
the number enrolled in the lists of the Session.
The members of the Established Church amount to
1,760 ; there are 30 Episcopalians, who, with a few neigh-
bours from the parishes of Spynie and Alves, have main-
tained a small meeting ever since it was the national
religion ; and there are 4 Seceders, of the Antiburgher sect.
There is a small burying-ground at Burgh-head for the
accommodation of that village; there was a chapel also
there where public worship was long ago performed by
the minister of the parish. Two hamlets bear the name
of College, namely, Roseisle and Unthank. At the last
of these the foundations of the chapel were lately taken
up to repair the mill.
Miscellaneous Information. — The people, although
poor and depressed, are not querulous ; they are peaceable
and well-disposed ; and the dislike of each other, on the
account of diversity of religious opinions and modes of
worship, has greatly subsided among them. They are
sober, and but little addicted to the intemperate use of
spirituous liquors.
The village of Burgh-head on the coast, the property of
Sir Archibald Dunbar, contains about 400 souls. A small
number of the men are quarriers and stone-cutters, but
the greater number follow a sea-faring life — 7 large boats,
with 6 people on board, are hired for the western fishery ;
5 of the same kind are employed in freighting commodi-
VOL. u. 6
82 REMAINS OF INVERUGIE CASTLE.
ties along the coast; 2 sloops, besides, are employed in
transporting grain to the south of Scotland, and in bring-
ing back coals ; and there are a few small boats employed
in fishing. At this village nature has pointed out a
station for a deep, capacious, and safe harbour. It could
be formed at a moderate expense, the stone just waiting
to be cut from the adjoining rock, and, with little precau-
tion, success would be certain. Along the whole southern
coast of the Moray Firth, from Buchanness, upwards of
100 miles, to Inverness, there is no good or safe harbour.
The advantage, therefore, of this undertaking appears in
the strongest light, there being water of any necessary
depth, on a fine bottom of blue clay, moss, or sand, and
shelter from every dangerous wind. It is nearly at equal
distance from Elgin and Forres, and, with a good harbour,
it would soon become the port of both towns. Commerce
and manu/acture would, of consequence, settle in this part
of the country, and, with an increasing rise in the value
of the neighbouring farms, all the various advantages
arising from them would quickly follow. Here at present
there is only a fishery, and but of small consideration.
Cod, skate, ling, are sold at Id. and l|d. the Ib. There
are also hollibut, mackarel, saith, and whiting. Turbot
are on the coast, but the people are not instructed in the
art of fishing for them. Haddocks have been for years in
fewer numbers, and farther from the land, in deeper water
than formerly. They sell at Id. each, six times dearer
than before.
Near the western end of the ridge along the shore,
where the rocks rise to a great height, the foundation of
a Castle called Inverugie remains. It was occasionally
the residence of the family of Marischal, who once held
the third part of the property of the parish, and was
named after their chief seat in Buchan. It appears that
in this parish many battles had in former times been
fought. Burying-ground is to be found about almost
every hamlet, and in many of them skeletons of human
bodies have been accidentally dug up, and this has given
rise to many fairy hillocks and grounds where witches
met together.
Near the western end of the parish there had been a place
of worship at a farm called Kirkhill, where the remains of
the cross and some of the buildings are still visible.
DUFFUS CASTLE. 83
In several places are indications of iron ore and coal.
All the water seems surcharged with iron, and in one
field, near Duffus House, there is a strong chalybeate
spring, near to which appears a black hard earth, mixed
with stone resembling the refuse of a forge.
Although now there is no natural wood in the parish,
yet from old tradition, and from rotten logs of wood found
in the corn fields and pastures throughout the whole
lower grounds, and even in the stiffest clay soil, this part
of the country must have once been an entire forest of
different kinds of timber — oak, aller, birch, hazel, and fir ;
and it is reported that the oppressed inhabitants were
compelled by the Danes to carry oak from the valley near
Roseisle to build their ships at Burghhead.] (Survey of
the Province of Moray.)
{Duffus Castle is about 4 miles north of Elgin and 2
miles west of Spynie Castle. It was built in the reign of
David II., and was long the seat of the family of Suther-
land, who bore the peerage title of Lords Duffus from
1650 till 1843. One of its earliest possessors, and probably
its founder, was Freskinus de Moravia, whose family
became conspicuous in Moray in the reign of David I.
Bishop Bricius founded a Chapel here early in the 13th
century, and we find from the Chartulary that Mary de
Federith, an heiress of the house of De Moravia, held
possession of it from 1269 till 1312. The Castle stood on
an elevated mound on the north-western shore of the
Loch of Spynie, now drained. A deep moat surrounded
it, with a parapet- wall and drawbridge. For several
miles circumambient no elevation surpassed it. From
the low-lying marshy state of the ground it was penin-
sular, and thus well secured against foes. At page 108
of Rhind's Sketches of Moray there is given an etching of
the Castle of Duffus in 1839, surrounded picturesquely
with clumps of trees. The walls are of rude workman-
ship, a considerable portion of which still remains on the
west side ; and from these we find that they formed a
large square, rising 20 feet high. The walls are formed
of rough stones, cemented with run lime, forming a mass
5 feet thick. The garden and orchard are yet in preser-
vation. We have no certain information when this
fortalice ceased to be occupied. Alexander Sutherland, of
84 GENEALOGY OF THE SUTHERLANDS OF DUFFUS.
the ancient family of Duffus, was created a Peer, by the
title of Lord Duffus, 8th Dec., 1650. He married four
wives — one at a time ; the first two and last were barren
to him, although the fourth wife (Margaret, eldest daughter
of William, llth Lord Forbes) married for her 2nd husband
Sir Robert Gordon, 3rd Bart, of Gordonstown, by whom
she had one daughter, married to John Forbes of Culloden.
Lord Duffus bought or acquired from his father-in-law
(his 2nd wife's sire, James, Earl of Moray) the lands of
Ardgay, Leggat, Kintrae, and others, and the Earl of
Moray's house in Elgin, called " the Great Lodging," which
he enlarged and beautified. At this time, the family
estate consisted of the whole parish of Duffus, Quarrel-
wood, Ardgay, Kintrae, &c., in Morayshire, and Skelbo,
Torboll, Morvich, &c., in Sutherlandshire. Alexander,
Lord Duffus, died 31st Aug., 1674, and was succeeded by
his only son, James, 2nd Lord Duffus, the offspring of his
3rd wife, Lady Margaret Stewart, 2nd daughter of James,
5th Earl of Moray. This James, Lord Duffus, killed Ross
of Kindeace in a sudden quarrel under much provocation,
and had for some time to leave the country in consequence.
He died the 24th Sept., 1705, but previously he got
embarrassed, and had to sell the greater part of the estate
to his 2nd son, James Sutherland, as a temporary arrange-
ment. He borrowed the money to pay the price from
Archibald Dunbar of Thunderton, which he was unable to
recoup. The title was attainted in 1715. Thus the great
and powerful family of De Moravia, who at one time had
large territories and great power in the land, have now
no longer a house nor name in the county of Moray.
An old woman of the parish, who survived the year
1760, related that she was a servant in the Castle, and
remembered to have waited on the company at table,
when Lord Dundee, the celebrated Claverhouse, was a
guest, about 1689; that she brought the claret to the
table from the cask in a timber stoup (a jar, the work-
manship of the cooper), which was drunk from a silver
cup. She said the Viscount was a swarthy little man,
with lively keen eyes, his hair black, verging towards
grey, having a lock covering each ear, rolled up on a slip
of lead twisted together at its ends.] (See Rhind's Sketches
of Moray, Young's Annals of Elgin, and Morayshire
Described.}
DANISH OBELISK AND OLD CHURCH PORCH AT DUFFUS. 85
Near a hamlet called the Ream or Kaim, supposed to
be a corruption of Camus, a Danish leader who was here
killed, was a Pillar or Obelisk, alleged to commemorate a
victory of Malcolm II. over the Danes under the above
Camus.
Ancient Porch at Duffus. — This beautiful fragment is
probably the oldest relic of ecclesiastical architecture in
the Province. The arch approaches to the Saxon, an
older style of the Gothic than the acute-pointed arch. It
may either have formed one of the aisles of the Church of
St. Peter, which we know existed here in the llth and
12th centuries, or it may be part of the Chapel of St.
Lawrence, founded by Freskinus De Moravia, one of the
Lords of Duffus, and who was buried here as well as
several of his ancestors. He died about 1269.
This arch forms the entrance to the present Church of
Duffus, and is still in good preservation. An etching is
given at page 31 of Rhind's Sketches of Moray.
A Cross, also apparently of considerable antiquity,
stands in front of the Church.
The rocky promontory, on which the town or village of
Burgh-head is built, projects into the Moray Firth, from
the general line of the coast, in a north-westerly direction
to the extent of about three quarters of a mile. This
promontory rises from the neck uniting it to the main-
land, at first with a gentle inclination, to within 400 feet
or so of its termination. Of the remaining extent, which
narrows towards the extremity, and ends in a perpendi-
cular front towards the sea, the south-west half is a level
space, of an average width of 250 feet, and 80 feet above
the water, while the rest of the ground attains a some-
what higher elevation. Where the declivity commences
three parallel ramparts, 15 and 20 feet high, with inter-
vening ditches 16 feet wide (considerable portions of
both of which still exist), were carried quite across the
promontory. Ramparts on some sides still existing
encompassed both the upper and lower terminal areas
within these breast works. The houses of the modern
town occupy the inclined surface in regular lines of low-
size.d buildings.
About 80 years ago there was discovered within the
rampart of the upper area a cubical-shaped covered
chamber, the sides of which measured 14 feet each, cut
86 COVERED CHAMBER AND RESERVOIR AT DUFFIJS.
in the solid rock, and having in the centre a cistern, bath,
or reservoir, 4 feet deep and 10 feet 9 inches square, in
which springs up a fountain of clear water. A projecting
cornice, one foot broad, runs round the chamber, about 6
feet from the top of the walls ; and at one of its angles is
a pedestal apparently for a statue. The communication
from without is through an excavated passage on one
side, and a flight of stone steps ascending to the surface
of the ground. The chamber is coated with plaster,
which, though now faded, was, when first opened, of a
deep red colour, and its angles are rounded.
No Roman coins have been dug up here ; but on some,
at least two, shapeless slabs of freestone, met with in the
ramparts, the figure of a bull (about the size of an ordinary
bull-dog) is outlined in basso-relievo. Anthony Carlisle,
on the llth May, 1809, exhibited to the Society of Anti-
quaries, London, a drawing of the animal, taken with
moistened paper, given in vol. xvi., p. 365 of Archceologia.
The views given out in General Roy's Military Antiqui-
ties and in Chalmers' Caledonia are not accepted. They
asserted that the Danish fortress here (a round hill of
about 50 feet high) was previously the " ultima Ptoroton "
of the Romans, mentioned in the Journal of the Monk
Richard of Cirencester, A.D. 1338. Recent enquiries and
excavations made on the spot have failed to find any
reliable evidence that the Romans ever had a fortified
station or camp here ; while the style of the sculptured
bulls in this part of the country, though bold and graceful,
is considered to be undoubtedly native and Celtic. In
the deep cutting of the hoofs and the circular volutes of
the tail and shoulder blades, the figures have an Eastern
or Nineveh type ; and in the loose rubbish of the ramparts
portions of carved crosses with processions and animals
have been found, more nearly resembling the celebrated
sculptured stones of the shires of Aberdeen' and Kincar-
dine, which exhibit a mixture of native Pagan and Chris-
tian forms.
The names of places in the neighbourhood, as Tuesis or
the Spey, and Farm or Forres, and the remains of a
very old road leading south from Burgh-head through the
hills of Cromdale and across the Grampians, of which a
few pieces still remain, somewhat like a Roman paved
way in their structure, alone give countenance to the
FAMILY OF MORAY OF DUFFUS. 87
Roman theory of Ptolemy's Geography and the Monkish
Itinera. It is, at all events, certain that the Norwegian
Earls of Orkney, who were in constant warfare with the
Scottish Earls of Sutherland and Caithness, and the
pirates from Denmark and Norway who infested our seas
for nearly 400 years, are known to have found here a
commodious harbour for their fleets, and an impregnable
fortress, and from their occupation of it the place acquired
its Norse appellation of Brough-Head.
Attention is hereby called to " Historical Notices of the
Brocli or Burghead, in Moray, with an Account of its
Antiquities, by James Macdonald, Esq., A.M.," printed in
the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland,
vol. iv., p. 321.] (ED.)
Before I describe the south side of the Loch of
Spynie, I shall take a view of the ancient
MOBAYS OF DUFFUS.
Duffus gave title to a noble lord, but is more
remarkable for having been the seat of the princi-
pal family of the ancient Moravienses. (1) Fris-
kinus, stiled De Moravia* (for particular sirnames
were not at that time fixed) was Dominus de
Duffus, in the reign of King David I. (Chart.
Morav.). His son (2) Willielmus de Moravia
Filius Friskini had a charter from King William,
about anno 1169, of the lands of Duffus, Eossile,
Kintrae, Inskele, &c., " Quas terras, Pater suus
Friskinus tenuit tempore Eegis David Avi mei " f
* It is observed that Sir Eobert Douglas often calls this
person De Moravia; but it is much doubted if he had any
authority for calling him so. It is supposed that he gave him
this appellation because his son William is called De Moravia.
t Translation. — Which lands his father, Freskin, held in the
reign of my grandfather, King David.
88 GENEALOGICAL DESCENT OF
(Ibid). He had several sons; as Hugh, his heir,
mentioned in a charter by Eichard, Bishop of
Moray, to the Abbey of Kinloss (Ibid). Hugh*
is supposed to have been ancestor of the Suther-
lands, who dropt the name De Moravia, and
assumed a sirname from their country, for both
Sutherland and Caithness were anciently called
Catanesia, afterwards divided into Australis and
Borealis. Sir John, Sheriff of Perthshire, the
undoubted progenitor of the family of Tullibar-
dine, represented, in the direct male-line by his
Grace the Duke of Athole, who is the 20th gene-
ration in descent from this Sir John ; Willielmus
Filius Willielmi Friskini, Dominus de Pettie,
Brachlie and Boharm, and father of Walter of
Pettie, of whom came Sir Andrew Moray, Lord
of Bothwell, Governor of Scotland, who died
anno 1338; and Sir John de Moravia, whose
representative in the right male-line is Mr.
Moray of Abercairny; Andrew, Bishop of Moray;
Gilbert, Bishop of Caithness ; and Richard of
Coulbin. (3) Hugh was father of (4) Walterus
de Moravia, films quondam Hugonis de Moravia,
so called in an agreement, anno 1266, with Archi-
bald, Bishop of Moray, about a part of the wood
and moor of Spynie. His son (5) Friskinus films
Walteri (Ibid) had two daughters co-heiresses,
* Hugh, the ancestor of the family of Sutherland, was called
Hugh Frisken. (See Additional Case for Lady Elizabeth Suther-
land^ page 8.) It is doubted whether he was the son of William,
or his brother, and father of the persons after mentioned.
THE MORAYS OF DUFFUS. 89
viz., Hellen, married to Sir Beynold Cheyne, and
Christine, married to William de Federeth. The
family of Cheyne of Duffus ended likewise in two
daughters, viz., Mary, married to Nicholas Suth-
erland, second son of Kenneth, Earl of Sutherland,
who was killed at Halidon Hill, anno 1333 ; and
the other daughter married to John Keith,
younger son to Sir Edward Keith Marshall of
Scotland, and with her got Inverugie lands in
Buchan and a part of Duffus. This Duffus was
divided into the King's part, Duffus's part, and
Marshall's part. Alexander Sutherland, grand-
son of Nicholas, married Morella, the heiress of
Chisholrn of Quarrelwood, which greatly increased
his fortune, and the family purchased Marshall's
Third and had an opulent estate. Alexander, the
fifth in descent from him, was raised to the
dignity of the Peerage, by the title of Lord
Duffus, by King Charles II., 8 December, 1650.
James, the second Lord, who died anno 1705,
sold the greatest part of the estate to Archibald
Dunbar of Thunderton (a branch of the family of
Kilbuiak and Hempriggs) whose grandnephew
now enjoyeth it. Kenneth, third Lord Duffus,
who was a Commander in the Eoyal Navy in
Queen Anne's time, in which station he signa-
lised himself in several engagements, had the
misfortune to enter into the Eebellion anno 1715,
and was attainted. His grandson, James Suther-
land, Esq., had it not been for the forfeiture,
90 COSMO INNES* ACCOUNT OF
would have been the fifth Lord Duffus. He now
represents that family.
The original arms of Moray are — Az. 3 stars. Arg. And
of Sutherland, Gul. 3 stars. Or.
Arms of the family of Lord Duffus — Quarterly, 1st and 4th,
Gules, three stars, Or. 2d, Azure, three cross crosslets fitched,
Argent. 3d, Azure, a boar's head crazed, Argent. Crest, a
Cat Sejant proper. Motto, WITHOUT FEAR. Supporters, two
Savages proper, each armed with a baton over his shoulder, and
wreathed about the head and middle. Vert
DE MORAVIAS OF DUFFUS AND PETTY.
[Willelmus Filius Freskin witnessed a Charter granted
by Malcolm IV. to Berowaldus Flandrensis of the lands
of Innes at Christmas, 1160. The date is proved by its
being witnessed by William, Bishop of Moray, there styled
Papal Legate, which rank he obtained in that year, and
died in the year following. Between 1162 and 1171 he
obtained a charter from that King of the lands "of Strabok,
Duffus, Rosisle, Inchikel, Machir, and Kintrai, quas terras
pater suus Friskin tenuit tempore regis David avi mei,"
(which lands his father, Frisken, held in the time of
King David, my grandfather.) This Charter certainly
existed in the middle of last century in the charter-chest
of the Earl of Buchan, the proprietor of the lands of
Strabrok in Linlithgowshire. Though now missing, it is
still in the inventory of his Lordship's title-deeds, and it
was seen and copied by Nisbet, from whom the words
above are quoted.
He witnessed several charters of King William between
the years 1187 and 1199, and never any but those granted
in Moray.
Willelmus Fresekyn was Sheriff of Invernaryn in 1204.
He had three sons, Hugh, William, and Andrew.
Andrew was a churchmau — Parson of Duffus in 1209.
He is probably the parson who refused the Bishoprick of
Ross in 1213. He is mentioned in 1221, but may by that
time have been dead.
Hugh appears, along with his father, about the end of
the 12th century. He inherited the lands of Duffus and
Strabrok. He had assumed the name of De Moravia, and
was styled Lord of Duffus before 1203. He continues to
THE MORAYS OF DUFFUS AND PETTY. 91
appear in the transactions of the Chartulary between 1203
and 1224. He was dead in 1226, and was buried in the
Church of Duffus, near the Altar of St. Katharine, as we
learn by a note on the margin of the older Chartulary, in
a hand apparently of the loth century : —
Iste Walterus de Morauia cum patre suo beato Hugone
sepultus est in ecclesia de Duffous prope altare beate Katrine
in eadena. Ut patet intuentibus. (That Walter of Moray,
with the blessed Hugh his father, was buried in the Church
of Duffus, near the Altar of St. Catherine in the same. As is
evident to all going in.)
And at a charter granted by his son Walter, endowing a
Chaplainry in the Church of Duffus, where he is styled
Walterus de Moravia, filius Hugonis de Moravia. A
scribe of the 15th century has interpolated the word
beati before Hugonis. From these notes it appears that
he was canonized, or at least obtained the character of
sanctity for his benefactions to the Church. He had two
sons — Walter who succeeded him, and Andrew, who was
Parson of Duffus during his father's lifetime and during
the Episcopate of Bishop Bricius, whom he succeeded as
Bishop of Moray in 1222. Walter de Moravia, Knight,
Lord of Duffus, the eldest son of Hugh, occurs very
frequently between 1224 and 1242. He married Eufemia,
probably a daughter of Ferchar, Earl of Ross. The grounds
for stating this are that the Earl granted to Walter de
Moravia, apparently without any consideration, certain
lands in Ross, which we find her afterwards possessing as
dowery-lands. Eufemia was a favourite name in the
family of the Earls of Ross. Walter de Moravia was dead
in 1262-3, and was buried with his father in the Church
of Duffus, as appears from a former quotation, and from
the following note on the margin of the older chartulary
against a charter of his : —
Iste verus habetur super tumulum eius in Duffus. Hie pater
dormit tumulatus Hugoque beatus. (That true man has this
upon his tomb in Duffus : — Here sleeps entombed the father
and the blessed Hugh.)
Freskinus De Moravia, Lord of Duffus, was the son and
heir of Walter. He occurs frequently in the Register
between 1248 and 1263. In a composition between him
and Simon, Bishop of Moray, we learn that he held the
92 DE MORAVIAS OF MORAY AND PETTY.
lands of Logie by grants of the Bishop's predecessors to
his great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather (proavo
et attavo). He occurs in public life as a party to the
treaty with the Welsh in 1258. His wife was Johanna,
of what family is unknown, who was proprietrix, appar-
ently in her own right, of extensive lands in Strathnavir.
He was dead in 1269, and was buried in the Chapel of
St. Lawrence, in the Church of Duffus, as we learn from
the following notes, marked in a hand of the 15th century,
upon the margin of the older Chartulary. There is some
reason to think that these notes on the sepultures of the
family of Duffus are in the handwriting of Bishop Alex.
Stewart : —
(
Iste Friskinus sepultus est in capella Sancti Laurentii ecclesie
parochialis de Duffows. Et iste erat nepos beati Hugonis
domini de Duffows et fundatoris eiusdem et filius Walteri de
Morauia.
Iste Freskynus sepultus est in Capella Sancti Laurencii de
Duffous quam ipse fundavit et dotavit de terris suis de Dawey
in Straspey et Duffous ut patet. Orate pro anima eius.
(That Friskin was buried in the Chapel of St. Lawrence in
the Parish Church of Duffus. And he was the grandson of
the blessed Hugh, lord of Duffus and founder of the same, and
son of Walter of Moray.
That Friskin was buried in the Chapel of St. Lawrence in
Duffus, which he himself founded, and endowed with his land
of Palvey in Strathspey and Duffus, as is evident. Pray for
his soul.)
He left his property divided between two daughters and
co-heiresses, Mary and Christian.
Christian, who occurs from 1269 to 1294, seems to have
had a portion of the lands of Duffus and Strabok, and four
davachs of land in Strathnavir. She married William de
Federeth, who was constable of Roxburgh in 1262. Their
son — William le fir William de Federed, del Counte de
Elgyn en Morref— did homage to Edward in 1296. The
family of De Federeth seems to have ended in an heiress,
probably his daughter, in the time of David II.
Mary, probably the elder daughter, occurs from 1269 to
1312. She inherited the Castle of Duffus with the greater
part of that barony, the half of Strabrok, with lands in
Strathnavir. She married Sir Reginald le Chen the
younger, and their descendants, co-heiresses, carried their
THE BARONY OF KILMALEMNOCK. 93
large possessions into the families of Sutherland of Duffus
— sprung of Nicholas, second son of Kenneth, Earl of
Sutherland, and Keith of Inverugie, a branch of the family
of Marischal, and which ultimately merged into that
great house.] (Preface xxxiv-xxxvii legist. Episc. Morav.)
THE PARISH OF ST. ANDREWS.*
Lieth north of the town of Elgin, on both sides
of the river Lossie, about 2^ miles in length, and
near a mile in breadth.
The Church standeth on the north bank of the
river, 11 mile east from Elgin, 2 miles E.S.E.
from New Spynie.
This parish was formerly called the Barony of
Kilmalemnock, and was the heritage of Sir Gil-
bert Hay of the family of Lochluy or Park.
Afterwards it came to the family of Innes. And
Alexander of Innes, having killed a gentleman on
the street of Edinburgh in 1576, purchased a
remission from the Eegent Morton, at the ex-
pense of resigning this barony (which compre-
hended Pitgavenie, Bareflathills, Dunkentie,
Kirkton, Fosterseat, and Scotstonhill) in his
favour (MS. Hist, of Innes).
East of the river, at the lower end is Insh,
pertaining to the family of Innes. Above which
is Dunkentie, which once belonged to Alexander
Gordon, son of Alexander of Strathdon, who,
with his two sons, was killed in Glenavon, by a
* The parishes of St. Andrews and Lhanbryd were united in
1780, and now bear the name of TJie Parish of St. Andrews-
Lhanbryd. Vide Page 326. (ED.)
94 THE PARISH OF ST. ANDREWS.
party of thieves about anno 16 , and the lands
came to the family of Gordon. Dunkentie is
now the heritage of John Innes of the family of
Leuchars : and Fosterseat is the property of the
Duke of Gordon. Farther south is Barmukatie,
lately pertaining to a branch of the Dunbars, and
now to George Duff, Esq., the third son of the
late Earl Fife. Above which is Linkwood, which
pertained to the Gibsons, from whom it came to
Dunbar of Bishopmiln, whose nephew, John Dun-
bar of Burgie, sold it lately to James Anderson,
Provost of Elgin, and his son Robert sold it in
1767 to the Earl of Findlater.
West of the river, at the lower end is Pit-
gavenie, a part of the Bishop's lands. It was
purchased by Alexander Brodie of Lethin, who,
in 1657, disponed it in favour of a younger son ;
and the male heirs failing, it was purchased in
1747, from the co-heiresses, by Alexander Brem-
ner, merchant in Portsoy, from whom James
Brander bought it.
Next above it, is Caldcots, Kirktoun, and a
part of Newmiln, pertaining to Innes of Dun-
kintie ; the other part of Newmiln belongeth to
William King of Newmiln. Next westward is,
THE PARISH OF SPYNIE.
Is situated betwixt the river of Lossie, and
that loch to which it giveth name. It was for-
merly 3 miles in length ; but now by drains and
THE PARISH OF SPYNIE. 95
banks, it is much confined. At the east end, it
is near an English mile broad, but narrower and
of unequal breadth westward. It abounds with
pikes or gidds, and is in winter haunted with
swans, that yield fine diversion in killing them.
The loch (except a few pits) in summer is not
above 5 feet deep, and might be easily drained,
could the gentlemen proprietors agree about the
rich soil that would be recovered. The hard
shingly beach at the east end, makes it probable
that once the sea flowed into the loch.
This parish stretcheth about 3 miles from east
to west, and 1 mile in breadth.
The Church stood in the extremity to the east,
and in 1736 was transplanted to, and built at,
Quarrelwood, and called New Spynie. It is 1J
miles north west from Elgin, about 3 miles east
from Alves, and 2 miles west-north-west of St.
Andrews.
This parish was most part Bishop's land, and
in the east corner, on the bank of the Loch of
Spynie, stood the Bishop's palace.
In 1590 Sir Alexander Lindsay, son of the Earl
of Crawford, was created Lord Spynie,* whose
grandson dying 1670 without issue, the lands
* K. Young, in his History of the Parish of Spynie,, pp. 43, 44,
observes : " Mr. Shaw, in his History of Moray, states that Lord
Spynie held the temporal lands of the Diocese until 1670 — and
we are unwilling to differ from one so accurate in general — but
it is proved by so many authorities that he sold them to the
Crown in 1606, that the fact is beyond question." (ED.)
9G PROPERTIES IN THE PARISH OF SPYNIE.
reverted to the Crown, and were granted to
Douglas of Spynie, from whom the barony was
purchased by James Brodie late of Whitehill,
and is now the property of James Brodie his
grandson. But the castle and precinct (paying
about £12 sterling annually) belong to the Crown.
Next afterward is Myreside, which lately per-
tained to Laurence Sutherland of Greenhall, and
was purchased from him by the Earl of Findlater.
Farther west is Finrossie, the property of a branch
of the family of Lesly of Eothes ; the first of
which was Robert, fourth son to George 5th Earl
of Rothes, by Margaret daughter of the Lord
Crichton Chancellor of Scotland. Robert was
succeeded in his lands of Finrossie, by his eldest
son Robert ; who, by Margaret daughter of Alex-
ander Dunbar of Grange a Lord of Session, had
Robert his successor, who married Isabel, daugh-
ter of Forbes of Blackston, by whom he had
George, fourth of this family, laird of Finrossie,
who married Mary, daughter of Bannerman of
Elsick, but died without issue. I shall not dip
into the question, Who was the true heir of Earl
George, after the disinheriting the eldest son
Norman ; whether Andrew who succeeded, or the
first mentioned Robert of Finrossie, for whom
much may be said.
Westward is Quarrelwood, so called from a
rich quarry of free-stone in the adjacent hill,
which was once covered with a large oak wood,
QUARRELWOOD; KINTRAE; BISHOPMILL; MORAYSTOUN. 97
whereof there are yet some remains. In the
year 1334, Sir Robert Lauder of Quarrelwood
was governor of the castle of Urquhart (Aber-
crombie). His grandson, by his daughter and
heir, Sir Robert Chisholm succeeded him, whose
sister Janet, was married to Hugh Rose of Kil-
ravok in 1334 (but it is incredible, that Sir
Robert Lauder should be governor of the castle
of Urquhart in the year 1334, when his great-
grand-daughter was married to Kilravock. Aber-
crombie in his History, vol. ii., page 38, in the
life of King David II. calls him Robert Lauder,
captain of Urquhart), (MSS. Hist. Kilr.). And
John, brother to Sir Robert, succeeding in the
estate, his grand-daughter (heiress to his son
Robert), married Alexander Sutherland of Duffus,
and brought Quarrelwood, Kinsterie, Brightmonie,
&c., into that family. Now Quarrelwood and its
pertinents, are the property of the Earl Fife.
Below Quarrelwood is Kintrae (Cean-traidh,
i.e. the Head of the Strand or Shore, for it was
the end of the loch) a part of the estate of Duffus,
now pertaining to the Duke of Gordon. On
Lossie side is Bishopmiln Barony, purchased by
James Robertson, late Provost of Elgin, from
John Dunbar of Burgie, about 1752, and the late
Earl of Findlater purchased it from Mr. Robertson.
Next up the river, is Moray stoun, purchased by
Lord Braco in 1756, from the heirs and creditors
of Martin of Moraystoun. And further up the
VOL. II. 7
98 NAIRN OF ALDRUCHTIE; SIR W. DUNBAR OF WESTFIELD.
river is Aldruchtie, probably a part of the estate
of Quarrelwood, and for generations pertaining
to Nairn of Aldruchtie, but now to the Earl Fife.*
. — Interesting details of these properties and of the
drainage of the Loch of Spynie, are given in Young's Parish of
Spynie. (ED.)
Below Quarrelwood on the plain next to Duffus
is Westfield, the seat of Sir William Dunbar of
Westfield, from whose son-in-law, Captain Thomas
Dunbar, Sir Ludovick Grant of Grant purchased
the barony of Westfield and his lands about
Forres, anno 1767. The mention of the family
of Westfield, leads me to speak of
THE DUNBARS.
The name of Dunbar is plainly patronymic,
taken from Bar their progenitor, and Dunbar is
Bar's hill. The Highlanders do not use the
word Dunbar, but Barridh, i.e. the descendants
of Bar. Our history favours this, and mentions
Bar a general in King Kenneth MacCalpin's
army about anno 842, who, from his name, called
his residence Dunbar. In the battles of Cullen
anno 961, and Mortlich anno 1010, Dunbar Thane
of Lothian was a commander. Earl Patrick de
Dunbar lived about anno 1061 (Buchann. &
Hume). And anno 1072 King Malcolm III. gave
to Gospatrick Earl of Northumberland, "Dunbar
* " After the most anxious search, I can find not the least
trace of such a family ; and, if there was, they must have been
only tenants." (R. Young.)
GENEALOGY OF THE DUNBARS. 99
cum adjacentibus terris in Lodonio"* (Sim.
Dunelm).
Of him came the noble family of the Earls of
Dunbar and March, in a direct line, to the year
1434, when Earl George was, in an arbitrary
manner forfeited, and the direct line became
extinct, through the ambition of the rival house
of Douglas. Of this great family came the
Homes, Dundasses, &c., but the name was con-
tinued in the family of Moray.
John Dunbar (2nd son of George llth Earl of
March, who died anno 1416, whose mother was
Agnes Kandolph, daughter of Thomas Earl of
Moray) married King Eobert II. 's daughter, who,
March 2nd (anno regni 2do) 1372, gave the Earl-
dom of Moray (except Badenoch, Lochaber, and
the castle of Urquhart) dilecto filio nostro Joanni
de Dunbar and Mariotae Sponsaa ejus filias nostrse
charissimse " f (Publ. Archiv.). Their sons were,
Earl Thomas and Alexander of Frenderet. Earl
Thomas, leaving no male issue, was succeeded
by his nephew Earl James son of Frenderet, who
married, 1st, Isabel, daughter of Sir Walter Innes
of Innes, who brought him a son Alexander; and,
2ndly, Janet Gordon, daughter of Huntley, by
whom he had Janet, married to James second
* Translation. — Dunbar with the neighbouring lands in
Lothian. (ED.)
f Translation. — To our beloved son John Dunbar and Mariot
his spouse our dearest daughter. (ED.)
100 FORFEITURE OF THE EARLDOM OF MORAY.
Lord Crichton, Lord Chamberlain of Scotland ;
and Elizabeth, married to Archibald brother to
the Earl of Douglas. Earl James died about
anno 1446, and his son ought to have . succeeded
him ; but because his mother Isabel Innes (who
stood in the 4th degree to her husband) died
before a dispensation was obtained, the power of
the Douglasses got Alexander declared illegiti-
mate, made his eldest sister renounce her right,
and Archibald Douglas, husband of the younger
sister, was made Earl of Moray anno 1446. Thus
was Alexander, son of EarlJames, unjustly deprived.
But, to make some compensation to him he was
knighted, made heritable sheriff of Moray, and
got an opulent estate. And Archibald Douglas,
having joined in his brother's rebellion, was slain
in the field of battle, and the Earldom of Moray
was forfeited, and annexed to the Crown anno
1455, where it remained, till King James IV.
bestowed it on his bastard son James, by Jean
daughter of John Lord Kennedy in the year
1501 ; Who, dying in the year 1544, without
male issue, it again reverted to the Crown, where
it remained till the 10th of February, 1562, when
Queen Mary conferred it on her base brother
James, afterwards Eegent ; whose eldest daughter,
Lady Elizabeth, conveyed it to her husband James
Lord Down, whose issue at present enjoy it, as
will be more fully shown afterwards.
GAVIN DUNBAR, DEAN, ARCHDEACON AND BISHOP. 101
THE DUNBARS OF WESTFIELD.
(1) Sir Alexander Dunbar of Westfield, only
son of James, 5th Earl of Moray, had great
possessions in lands. Beside the barony of
Westfield, he had the lands of Carnousie, Fitter-
house, Kilbuyack, Conzie, Durris, Tarras, Balna-
gath, Fochabers, Clunies, Moyness, Clavack,
Golfurd, Barlow, &c. By Isabel, daughter of
Alexander, 3rd Baron of Duffus, he had six sons
and one daughter, viz. : Sir James, his heir ;
Sir John, who married [Margaret] one of the
co-heiresses of Cumnock, whose male line is
extinct ; Alexander of Conzie and Kilbuyack,
third son, from whom Sir Jas. Dunbar of Moch-
rum, the direct heir-male of the Earls of Moray,
and the heritable Sheriffs of Moray, is descended ;
Gavin Dunbar, Dean of Moray, Archdean [Arch-
deacon] of St. Andrews, Bishop of Aberdeen,
and Lord Clerk Kegister of Scotland, fourth son.
He was consecrated Bishop of Aberdeen anno
1518, and died anno 1532, having built the
Bridge of Dee, and founded an hospital for the
maintenance of twelve poor men ; David Dunbar
of Durris, 5th son, from whom the Dunbars
of Grangehill are descended in a direct male
line. He sold the lands of Durris anno 1608,
and purchased Grangehill; Patrick, sixth son,
Chancellor of the Diocese of Aberdeen, ancestor
of the Dunbars of Bermagefield, now represented
102 AULDERN ERECTED INTO A BURGH OF BARONY.
in the male line by Archibald Dunbar of Dyke-
side, Esq. Sir Alexander's only daughter was
Isabell, married to Sir William Keith of Inner-
ugie, to whom she had two daughters; the
eldest married to William, Earl Marshall, the
other to William, Lord Forbes. And from these
two marriages all • of these noble families since
that time are descended.
(2) Sir James Dunbar succeeded his father, Sir
Alexander, in his estates of Westfield, &c., and
heritable Sheriffship of Moray. He married
Eupheme, eldest daughter and co-heiress of
Patrick Dunbar of Cumnock and Mochrum, by
whom he had (3) Sir James Dunbar of Cumnock
and W^estfield, who was served heir to his father
anno 1505. He got a charter erecting his town
of Auldern into a free burgh of barony, with all
the privileges enjoyed by any other burgh within
the kingdom, dated the 20th of August, anno
1511. By Elizabeth, daughter of Sir James
Ogilvie, of Deskford, ancestor of the Earl of
Findlater, he had his son and heir (4) Sir Alexr.
Dunbar of Cumnock and Westfield, who suc-
ceeded his father anno 1535 ; for his great per-
sonal courage he was called " the Bold Sheriff.''
He was succeeded by his son (5) Sir Patrick,
anno 1576. He married Jean, sister of John,
the 14th Earl of Sutherland, by a dispensation
from the Pope on account of consanguinity.
With this lady he had two sons. Sir James, the
THE DUNBARS OF WESTFIELD. 103
eldest son, had a son, Sir Alexander, who died
without issue anno 1603 ; (6) Patrick of Boghole
[Boghall], second son of Sir Patrick, was killed
with the Earl of Moray at Dunibristle, anno
1592. He left four sons : Alexander, the eldest,
who died without issue ; John, second son, whose
son, Alexander, died anno 1646, without issue ;
James, third son, died unmarried ; (7) Thomas,
fourth son, who succeeded his nephew, Alex-
ander. He was succeeded by his son (8) Kobert
Dunbar of Westfield, Sheriff of Moray, who, by
Barbara, daughter of Sir Kobert Innes of Innes,
had two sons, Kobert, his heir, whose grandson,
Kobert Dunbar of Westfield, Sheriff of Moray,
dying anno 1711 without issue, was succeeded
by his cousin, Ludovick, son and heir of (9)
Alexander Dunbar of Moy, second son of Kobert
Dunbar of Westfield (No. 8 of this account) ;
which Alexander married Lucia, daughter of Sir
Ludovick Gordon of Gordonstoun, by whom he
had the above-mentioned (10) Ludovick, who
succeeded to the estate of Westfield and herit-
able Sheriffship of Moray, which last, that had
been nearly 300 years in the possession of his
family, he sold to Charles, Earl of Moray, and
disponed his estate to his cousin, Elizabeth, heir
of line of the family, grand-daughter of Kobert
Dunbar of Westfield, his father's brother ; which
(11) Elizabeth succeeded him anno 1744, and
married Sir William Dunbar of Hempriggs (son
104 DUNBARS OF WESTFIELD AND THUNDERTON.
of Sir James Sutherland, second son of James,
Lord Duff us), with whom she had a daughter
(12), Janet, undoubted heir of line of the ancient
Dunbars of Westfield, heritable Sheriffs of Moray.
She married Captain Thomas Dunbar of Grange-
hill, now of Westfield, with whom she had issue
two sons (13) Alexander, the eldest, William
Henry, second son, and a daughter, Elizabeth.
It is observable that when Ludovick of West-
field died anno 1744, I could not find a male that
could instruct his propinquity to him without
going back 250 years, and tracing down the
descendants of Sir John Dunbar, the first of
Mochrum.
Arms of Dunbar of Westfield. Quarterly, 1 and 4, Gules,
a Lion rampant within a border Argent, for Dunbar ; 2 and 3
Or, three Cushions pendent by the corners, within the Eoyal
tressures, Gules. Crest, a Sword and Key disposed in Salty r
proper. Motto, SUB SPE (Under Hope.)
THE DUNBABS OF THUNDEETON.
Dunbar of Thunderton, in the parish of Duffus,
is the representative of Dunbar of Kilbuiak, as
mentioned in the general history of the name
of Dunbar. Kilbuiak was the third son of Dun-
bar of Westfield, who was only son of James, 5th
Earl of Moray. In 1763 Sir Patrick Dunbar of
Hempriggs and Northfield having died without
male issue, the title of Baronet devolved upon
Dunbar of Thunderton as nearest heir-male.
Alexander Dunbar of Thunderton was regularly
THE DUNBARS OF THUNDERTON. 105
served heir-male to said Sir Patrick, and the ser-
vice is recorded in the Sheriff Court-book of
Elgin. This Alexander Dunbar (afterwards Sir
Alexander) married Margaret, daughter of John,
Viscount of Arbuthnot, by whom he had issue:
1st, Jean, married to James Coull, Esq. of Ash-
grove ; 2nd, Archibald, who succeeded to him ;
3rd, Helen, who died young; 4th, John, who
died, an officer in the army. Sir Archibald, who
succeeded, married, first, Helen Penrose Gum-
ming, daughter of Sir Alexander Penrose Gum-
ming of Altyre, by whom he had issue : 1st,
Helen, married to Eobert Warden of Parkhill,
Stirlingshire ; 2nd, Margaret, married to L.
Macintosh of Eaigmore ; 3rd, Alexander, who
died young; 4th, Jane, married to Bawdon
Forbes Clavering, Esq., Eoyal Engineers ; 5th,
Georgina ; 6th, Archibald, an officer in the
army ; 7th, John, in the Civil Service of the
East India Company, married to Miss Sophia
Hagar ; 8th, William, who died in India ; 9th,
Charles, an officer in the East India Company's
Service; 10th, Louisa; llth, Thomas; 12th,
Emilia ; 13th, Edward. Sir Archibald married,
secondly, Mary, daughter of John Brander, Esq.
of Pitgavenie, by whom he had issue, James
Brander Dunbar.
Arms Quarterly ; Dunbar and Randolph, all within a border,
vary, Gules and Or, with a Lion rampart, par surtout, for the
Baronetage. Crest, a drawn sword or Key Cross. Supporters,
•on the dexter, a Lion rampant, argent ; and, on the sinister, a
106 THE PARISH OF SPYNIE.
savage holding a batton over his shoulder, proper. SUB SPE
(Under Hope.)
SPYNIE.
[Soil, Situation, Climate. — Although the lake of Spynie
has retired a considerable space from the west end of the
parish, and although the river Lossie does not cover the
whole of its southern side, yet the parish may be in
general considered as lying between the river and the
lake. From near the precinct of the castle of Spynie at
the east, a ridge of moor stretches the whole length, about
4 miles, rising gradually towards the west into a high
hill. Upon each side of this hill lies the whole of the
cultivated land, extending the general breadth of the
parish, neai'ly equal to its length, and including almost
every variety of soil, from the heaviest clay to the
lightest land. On the southern side of the hill, along the
banks of the Lossie, the air is peculiarly mild and warm,
during a great proportion of the year. On the northern
side the climate is not so pleasant: the soil is wet and
cold : the lake and the adjoining low ground, imperfectly
drained, often emit a disagreeable fog, yet without any
bad effect on the health of the inhabitants, there being no-
disease more prevalent here than in any other part of the
country. It has been already observed, that the parishes
of Drainy and of Duffus lie upon the north side, and
between Spynie and the sea; the parish of Elgin lies
along the whole length of its southern confines; and a
fine field, a plain of 40 acres, reaches close up to the
north side of the town ; the river having once run up
hard by, as appears by title deeds of the adjoining tene-
ments, which still bound them by the river, although this
broad plain, the property of the Earl of Findlater, has
been from time immemorial interjected. The reverse of
this has happened a little lower down, in a small semi-
circular field called Dean's Crook, which has been cut off"
from the cathedral-lands of Elgin, by the river occupying
the diameter instead of the periphery, which till of late
remained a reedy pond.
State of Property. — The valued rent of the parish,
amounting to £3055 13s. 8d. Scots, is divided among four
proprietors, of whom the Earl of Fife, holding the lands
of Spynie, Morristown, Sheriffmill, Aultdroughty, Leigate,.
Rosehaugh, Quarrywood, and Kintrae, has the valuation
STATE OF PROPERTY IN SPYNIE. 107
of £1691 3s. 8d. The Earl of Findlater, holding Bishop-
mill, Myreside, and Burrowbriggs, has £547 8s. 8d. Francis
Russel of Blackball, Esq., advocate, has Westfield, being
valued at £488 16s. 2d.; and John Leslie, Esq., Writer to
the Signet, has Findrossie, valued at £327 5s. 2d. The
public burdens of the parish are supported by these pro-
prietors ; but, besides them, the precincts of the castle of
Spynie, being 10 acres, and yielding a revenue of £12
sterling, is the property of the Crown. James Milne,
Esq., has the Mills of Bishopmill, and a small contiguous
property, which, with another small feu, the property of
John Ritchie, Esq., merchant in Elgin, is included in the
valuation appertaining to the Earl of Findlater. These
mills, on the river Lossie, comprehend machinery for
making all the varieties of pot barley, and for grinding
wheat and other grain, of the most improved and newest
construction ; and a little farther down the river, on Mr,
Ritchie's feu, there is a field and the most complete
machinery, whereby the bleaching of linen and of thread
is carried on to a great extent, in the most advantageous
manner.
The lands, for the most part, are occupied in small
farms, there being only three that equal or exceed 100
acres. The clay soil produces more weighty crops than
the sandy, and aifords about a fifth part more rent,
although, on account of the additional expense which
attends its management, it is reckoned by many not the
most profitable, the labour being often suspended by the
wet during a great part of the winter and the beginning
of spring, while all the necessary operations of husbandry
are prosecuted on the drier lands. Consequently a greater
proportion of servants and cattle is required, and the
crop, being in general more late, is exposed to greater
damage in harvest. A considerable proportion, however,
of this kind of soil is rented at a guinea the acre, while
the sandy soil only brings from 10s. to 17s. The estate
of Westfield was lately modelled into allotments from 20
to 40 acres, and let at the rate of nearly £2 per acre ; yet
the mean rent over the whole parish cannot be estimated
higher than £1 3s. the acre.
It will not be deemed improper to take notice of the
cultivation of the farm of Sheriffmill, rented by James
Walker, Esq., M.D. This gentleman in the early part of
108 DR. WALKER'S MODE OF FARMING.
his life entered with all the ardour of enthusiasm into the
horse-hoeing husbandry, in which he has ever since per-
severed with unfailing steadiness, raising crops of wheat,
barley, and beans, in drills, without a particle of dung,
always fallowing the intervals, about 3 feet, for each suc-
ceeding crop ; hereby completely demonstrating the effect
of cultivation without the use of manure. Although
every operation has been performed with the nicest
accuracy, and in its proper season, and though the light
sandy soil of SherirFmill seems well adapted for this kind
of husbandry, yet the result has not been such as to
encourage imitation. The quality of the wheat, though
raised successively on the same field for the space of
almost 20 years, without dung, has not been impaired ;
but the quantity by the acre is less in a very great
degree than is raised in the broadcast way in the same
kind of soil, well ploughed and manured.
State Ecclesiastical. — The Manse and Church were plea-
santly situated at the eastern extremity of the parish, in
the vicinity of the castle, until the year 1736, when they
were removed to Quarrywood — a centrical, but a bleak
situation, nearly under the highest part of the north side
of the hill. The glebe and garden, consisting of about 6
acres, are enclosed with stone walls. The burying-ground
has been continued in the original situation, in the east
end of the parish. The stipend and allowance for the
expense of the communion, are 4 chalders of barley, and
1 chalder of meal, and £46 6s. 8d. sterling.
The right of patronage at present is perhaps not fully
ascertained. A brief detail of the circumstances which are
publicly known relating to it, is all that can be here
stated. Before the abolition of Episcopacy, in the year
1640, the patronage appears by the ecclesiastical records
to have been undisputed in the family of Innes ; and they
exercised it undisturbed unto the present times, save for
the short interval of its general abolition, during which
they preserved their possession by the disposal of the
vacant stipends, and by preventing the benefice being
impaired, by objecting to the annexation of the land of
Burrowbriggs to the parish of Elgin. At the settlement,
however, of the last incumbent, the Duke of Gordon
claimed the patronage, and conjoined in the presentation
with Sir James Innes, who before the late settlement had
disposed of his rights to the Earl of Fife, on which occa-
sion the patronage was also claimed by Col. Fullarton of
Boisack, as the heir of Alexander Lindsay, Lord Spynie,
in whose behalf the church-lands of the bishoprick which
remained at the Reformation, with the feu-duties and
patronages, were by James VI. erected into a temporal
lordship. The Colonel conjoined with the Earl in the
presentation ; but their presentee being in the meantime
elsewhere appointed, the Peers made an agreement for
that vice, in which the Colonel did not farther interfere ;
but since the settlement, the right of patronage has been
decided by the Court of Session in his favour. During
the course of the litigation, however, the Duke recovered
an ancient and more special evidence of the validity of
his claim, on which he has brought it again under the
review of the Court.
The School is a mean cottage, and the accommodation
for the master miserably wretched. It was built about
half a mile northward from the Church, on a sterile moor,
a corner of which, during the hours of vacation, had been,
by the industry of successive masters, cultivated, exciting
them to a degree of exercise advantageous to their health,
while it improved their slender subsistence by its produce
of potatoes and other vegetables. . As by these means so
much has been added to the revenue and territory of the
landlord, who has some time exacted an adequate rent
and as there is a considerable extent of adjoining rocky,
moor, yielding no pasturage of any value, and only im-
provable by the manual labour of the spade, it would per-
haps be but equity to the schoolmaster, to allocate an acre
in any convenient corner, which he might in the meantime
improve, and to which the school might be removed, when
it needs to be rebuilt. His present appointment is £4
sterling, paid by the landlords, and 8 bolls of meal, col-
lected from the tenants, in proportion to their respective
rents, with the usual fees of teaching, and the pittance
annexed to the office of session-clerk.
Besides the halfpence contributed by the people in the
Church, the provision for the poor arises from the interest
of a donation by Mary Bannerman, a widow lady of the
family of Findrossie, in the year 1707, accumulated at
present to £111 2s. 6d. sterling, double the original endow-
ment. It is placed with the Magistracy of Elgin, and
110 GAELIC NAMES OF PLACES; DANISH CAMP.
under the care of the proprietors of Bishopmill, Westfield,
and Findrossie. The Rev. William Dougal, minister of
the parish, left a similar endowment, almost £17 of
principal, half of its interest to be applied in buying
Bibles for poor children; and his maiden daughter, Katha-
rine, by her will in the year 1793, bequeathed £20 sterling,
for the education of two girls successively, for two years
in reading, writing, and arithmetic, when 6 or 7 years old,
and for the next two years in knitting hose, and sewing
linens. This endowment is in the patronage of the Ses-
sion, but limited to the legitimate children of Presby-
terians. [George M'Cummins or M'Kimmie, of Blackheath,
Kent, bequeathed, in 1796, £200 for the poor of the parish.]
The members of the Established Church amount to 779 :
there are 20 of the Episcopalian profession, and 1 Seceder.
Miscellaneous Information. — The people are indus-
trious and frugal, maintaining also other virtues, not so
much the necessary consequence of their situation, being
in general, honest, benevolent, and friendly, entertaining
also a high respect for the ordinances of religion. The
names of many of the places are of the Gaelic language :
Kintrea, the head of the tribe, when the lake was an arm
of the sea ; Inshagarty, the Priest's island ; Leigate, the
original Lag-na-fhad, the long hollow. On the south
side of the hill, towards its western end, there is a large
extent of natural oak wood, the property of the Earl of
Fife. It is well preserved, properly thinned, and, when
full grown, will be again of great value. Under a thin
stratum of moorish soil, the greater part of the hill is a
mass of hard excellent free-stone, of which a quarry near
the summit is wrought to a considerable extent, supplying
all the country with mill-stones, and Elgin and its neigh-
bourhood with stones for building.
On this hill, the traces of the Danish camp that has
been mentioned are still conspicuous, but must in a short
time be effaced, by having been, indiscriminately with
the circumjacent moor, planted over with Scots fir. Were
the noble owner apprized of this, he might perhaps, from
his distinguished taste, be induced to give instructions for
the preservation of such a monument of ancient national
history, still attesting the truth of venerable records, that
our ancestors were for more than a year subjected to the
most cruel and oppressive servitude, being without dis-
DATE OF THE MILL OF SHERIFFMILL. Ill
tinction of rank or sex compelled to undergo the most
intolerable labour, to every species of the most grievous
exaction, and to the most wanton murder, by an encamp-
ment of hostile barbarians in the heart of the country.
By such a monument, the passing generation may be
inspired with thankfulness to a good Providence, and also
taught the value of the present government, whose energy
prevents the most transient apprehensions of such insult-
ing cruelties from their enemies, equally rapacious and
more blood-thirsty than the northern savages of the llth
century.
In preceding times also, the accommodation of civil life,
and the state of the useful arts, were vastly inferior to
those of modern times. The erecting the machinery of a
corn-mill could not then be undertaken by any person in
a rank inferior to a Baron, a Bishop, or an hereditary
Sheriff. The particular year 1237, in which the mill of
Sheriffmill was built, is specially ascertained by the
remarkable circumstance of the ground for its situation
being the first dilapidation of the revenues of the bishop-
rick, in the 7th incumbency, by that respectable Bishop
who laid the foundation of the great Cathedral, Andrew
de Moravia, of the family of Duffus, in favour of his
brother. The conveyance is to this effect: —
"Know all, that we, by the consent and free-will of our
chapter, have given and granted, and by this our charter have
confirmed, to Walter de Moravia, and his heirs, one station for
a mill in Lossie, on our land of Auchter Spynie, on the eastern
part of Royer in the same land, to grind their corn and that of
their people, as freely, quietly, and fully, as any Baron in
Moray, upon delivering to us and our successors, as an acknow-
ledgment, each year at the feast of Whitsunday, one pound
weight of pepper, and another of cumin." — Gliart. o/Mor. fol. 32.
And this mill, though at the distance of 6 miles, has
ever since continued to be the mill of the barony, at pre-
sent the property of Sir Archd. Dunbar of Duffus. In
those times, however, it appears that even uncultivated
ground was of the same importance as at present. About
10 years before this dilapidation, a formal contract had
been ratified by the same brothers, in a style similar, but
more brief, than the deeds of the present day. The nar-
rative represents: —
112 DISPUTES WITH EPS. OF MORAY & THE DE MORAVIAS.
"Whereas there is a dispute between Andrew, Bishop of
Moray, on the one part, and Walter de Moravia, son of the late
Hugh de Moravia, respecting a servitude on the moors and
woods of Spynie and Finrossie, which the said Walter alleges*
was of old obtained by his predecessors, and asserts to have
been granted and confirmed to his father, by a charter from
Bricius, of worthy memory, late Lord Bishop of Moray, upon
delivering each year, as an acknowledgment, an half stone of
wax, it is thus amicably settled between them, the chapter of the
Cathedral of Moray willing and consenting : namely, that the
said Walter and his heirs shall have in perpetuity to themselves
and their families, a servitude upon the said woods and moors
on the west side of the highway which comes from the castle
of Duffus to Levenford in this manner, that the moor may
be used by digging ; but on the east side of the said road they
make it common, the said Walter and his heirs paying yearly
at Whitsunday to the Bishops of Moray, one merk sterling of
lawful money, for all service and exaction pertaining to the
said Bishops."
And in 1248, twenty- two years after the date of this con-
tract, another agreement is made between their successors,
Simon the Bishop, and Freskyn, the son of Walter. To
the preceding concession the Bishop adds the land of
Logynhavedall, and instead of the merk obtains again
the possession, in common, of the pasturage and woods as
far as Saltcot, which is between Finrossie and Kintray.
It is also instructed by the Chart, that the lands of
Quarrywood, not then under cultivation, made part of
the pasturage at that time of such importance; for it
appears by a reclaiming petition, directed by Dr. Alex.
Bar, Bishop in 1369, to the honourable and potent Lord
Archibald Douglas, knight, that they were then but
recently cultivated. This Bishop, who, as has been
shown, possessed in some degree the spirit of litigation,
thus addresses him : —
" Honourable and noble Sir, you and John de Hay, Sheriff
of Inverness, have determined a certain process in such manner,
as God knows, to the grievous injury of the Priory of Plus-
carden, and to the great prejudice of the jurisdiction of the
Church, which we crave to have by you recalled ; for we assert
and declare that Alexander, King of Scotland, of pious memory,
gifted to the prior and monks of Pluscarden,. his mills of Elgin
and Forres, and other mills depending on them, and the mulc-
tures of the lands of those mills, which he then received, or
SIR ROBERT CHISHOLME SEIZES A HUSBANDMAN. 113
ought to have received, as they were for the deliverance of his
soul, which mulctures of the lands then arable, by virtue of the
donation, the said prior and monks have received, like as they
yet without dispute receive : and whereas the mulctures of the
lands of Quarrywood, in the sheriffdom of Elgin, at that time
unimproved, but now reduced to cultivation, belongs and
appertains to the mill of Elgin, from which it is scarcely a mile
distant, because if it had been at that time cultivated, the
mulctures thereof would and ought to have been received by
the Royal granter."
The petition, after instructing more valid rights, and
undisturbed possession, with the knowledge and tolerance
of Robert Chisholme, knight, during the preceding reigns,
"Farther asserts and declares, that the said Robert seized
and bound a certain husbandman of the lands of Finrossie, to
whom the Prior had by contract let the said mulctures, and
thrown him into a private prison, by which he directly incurred
the sentence of excommunication."
The petition proceeds to shew cause why the action
could not be determined by the civil, but by the ecclesi-
astical court, and concludes by threatening to excommuni-
cate the civil judges, if they attempted anything farther,
by which the Priory might be wronged, or the jurisdiction
of the Church injured.
The whole roll of the Bishops of Moray, from the first
erection of the diocese by Alexander I. about the year
1120, to the final abolition of Prelacy in the year 1688, a
space of 568 years, amounted to the number of 37, about
16 years to each incumbency. Although none of them
made any conspicuous figure as Statesmen, yet both in
the Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches, several
appear to have been respectable, and to have possessed
the confidence of their respective contemporaries. Several
estates are still bounded according to decreets-arbitral of
Colin Falconer, the last Bishop who inhabited the castle
of Spynie, and who died in 1686. The whole country, of
every rank, attended his funeral. He had two successors,
Alexander Rose and William Hay ; but neither of them,
had any personal residence, in their official character, in
this magnificent castle.] (Survey of Province of Moray)
[At what period the first Parish Church of Spynie was
erected we have no trace. It was very likely before the
VOL. II. 8
114 KIRK AND BELL OF SPYNIE.
time of Bishop Bricius, and it perhaps was a log-building,
or clay wattled, common then. When the Bishop had no
fixed seat, but moved about from Birnie to Spynie, and
from thence to Kinnedar, as their necessity required, and
had an occasional residence at Spynie, it is likely that a
stone Church, similar to Birnie, may have been erected,
and which was dedicated to the Holy Trinity. When
Bishop Bricius fixed the Cathedral at Spynie, and obtained
the consent of the Pope to that effect, a Church of some
pretentious size in all probability must have been built.
However, there is no existing writ giving details of the
style or size of the structure. When the Cathedral was
finally removed to Elgin in 1224, Spynie would fall to
the level of a Parish Church. Whether it shared the
general fate at the Reformation, and was replaced by the
usual " cheap and nasty " substitute, there is no record.
All that remained of the Parish Church was a Gothic
gable, which fell about 30 years ago. This edifice was
74 feet long, and 35 feet broad, or 2590 square feet, in-
cluding walls. The belfry was erected in 1723, which,
with the cut stones of the doors, were utilised in the new
church of parsimonious economy erected in 1736. It has
a sun-dial placed on the south side, made by a son of the
Rev. William Dougall, which has a margin of 4 inches all
round. On the upper part, on the curve, is engraved
" JOHANNES DOUGALL FECIT, 1740." The bell was brought
from the old Church, and from the maker's name seems
to have been cast in Holland, the great commercial centre
of that time. There is a tradition that the bell was the
gift of Bp. John Guthrie (1623-1638), who was deposed
by the General Assembly in the latter year, but that it
was not rung or hung until he left Spynie never to return.
It bears the following inscription : —
THIS BELL— FOR THE PEARIS OF SPYNIE— ME FECIT, 1637.
SOLI DEO GLORIA. MICHAEL BORGELTWYS.
On the lintel of the entry door of the old Manse were cut
the initials " W. D., 1736, K. K.," indicating the minister
and his wife. A new Manse was built in 1840.] (ED.)
SPYNIE.
[The name of Spynie occurs in the Chartulary of Moray
no less than 67 times, which shows of how much consider-
ation it was as the seat of the Bishop. It was probably
ADVANTAGES OF HAVING THE PALACE AT SPYNIE. 115
a place of some importance, and had a Parish Church at a
very early date. When Bishop Bricius, in the beginning
of the 13th century, fixed on this spot as the Cathedral
Church of his diocese, he had strong reasons for doing so.
It was most conveniently situated near the town of
Elgin ; had a communication with the sea, a harbour
immediately adjoining, where all commodities could be
landed ; was a delightful, dry situation, with pure air, and
a very commanding view of the surrounding country.
There was little arable ground around it at this early
period. Looking to the north and west, there was the
arm of the sea, with its winding shores ; towards the
south and east, a considerable quantity of woodland and
bare moor ; but, under the fostering care of the Bishops,
population would rapidly increase. Their tenants and
vassals enjoyed an easy life, compared with those of the
military barons around them. They had leisure to attend
to their agricultural pursuits, and were not liable to be
called into service for war ; and, when attacked from
without, they had the powerful arm of the Church to rely
on. Such advantages, in a very disturbed age, had the
tendency of bringing a great increase to the inhabitants
of the district, improving the surrounding land, and
reclaiming much that was waste. A village also sprang
up on the borders of the lake, to the west of the Palace,
which was eventually erected into a Burgh of Barony,
with merchants and traders, gradually growing in popula-
tion and importance, until, by an unexpected casualty,
the lake ceased to be connected with the sea. This
locality therefore became, from the above causes, and
long continued to be, the most important part of the
parish of Spynie, and up to the period of the Reforma-
tion, the most highly cultivated part of it.
In 1599 Alexander, Lord Spynie, 4th son of David, 9th
Earl of Crawford, appointed Alexander Innes of Cotts
Constable of the Fortalice and Castle of Spynie, and others
within the precinct, with very extensive powers ; and that
functionary appears to have looked after the temporalities
for behoof of his noble employer. The property con-
tinued in possession of the Lindsay family only for 16
years. In 1606, after King James VI. succeeded to the
throne of England, it was his determined resolution to
restore the order of Bishops, not from any religious feel-
116 DOUGLAS, MINISTER OF SPYNIE, BECOMES BISHOP.
ing, but merely from temporal motives. Lord Spynie
sold to the Crown the lands belonging to the Bishopric
of Moray, granted to him in 1590, reserving only the
patronage of the Churches, which he eventually lost by
not exercising his rights. Lord Spynie and King James
VI. did not always continue on terms of friendship. On
the contrary, they became quite alienated from one
another. His Lordship was killed in a street brawl
in Edinburgh, by his cousin, David Lindsay of Edzell
in 1607.
When Episcopacy was restored in 1606, Alexander
Douglas, minister at Elgin, was made Bishop, and held
the See for 17 years. He seems to have resided at Elgin,
and but little at Spynie, which continued under the man-
agement of Innes of Cotts, the Constable of the Palace
and Regality. He conveyed the lauds of Spynie, as well
as Morriston and Burgh Briggs, to his son, Alexander
Douglas, retaining for himself and his successors only the
precinct round the palace. Alexander Douglas, the
Bishop's son, is said to have inamed Mary Innes, and
died, when Provost of Banff, in 1669.
The Douglases, who were probably a branch of the
Pittendrich family, continued in possession of the estate
of Spynie until about the close of the century, when they
sold it to James Brodie of Whitehill, a cadet of the family
of Brodie.
After the Revolution, the whole revenues of the diocese
and the Castle of Spynie, with the precinct, fell to the
Crown. The Castle was allowed to fall into ruins. The
wood, iron work, and finest stones of the buildings were
carried away by the country people. The palace and
precinct continued in possession of the Crown down to
about the year 1840, when they were sold to the Earl of
Fife, on the valuation of the late Mr. Peter Brown, at a
very moderate price. About 15 years previous to the
sale, the Barons of Exchequer had given orders to pre-
serve what remained of the ruins. They erected a lodge
for a keeper, and planted and enclosed the Hill of Spynie
with larch and fir wood, which now, after the lapse of 40
years, is pretty well advanced, and is a great improve-
ment. Round the palace the ground has been planted
with hardwood, which also has made good progress, and
has beautified as well as sheltered the place. The Earl
THE ESTATE OF SPYNIE SOLD TO THE BRODIES. 117
of Fife has taken an interest in the palace and grounds,
and is caring for and protecting the fine old ruin.
We have stated before that the family of Douglas sold
the estate of Spynie to James Brodie of Whitehill,
about the close of the 17th century. There were three
successive proprietors of this family, viz. : — 1st, James
Brodie, the purchaser, who was brother of George Brodie
of Brodie ; 2nd, James Brodie, his son, who was Sheriff-
Depute of the County of Elgin ; and 3rd, James Brodie,
grandson of the purchaser. This last proprietor was born
in 1744. In 1759, by the death of his second cousin,
Alexander Brodie of Brodie, he succeeded to the whole
Brodie estates. He married, in 1768, Lady Margaret Duff,
daughter of William, Earl of Fife. About or shortly after
the year 1770, he conveyed the estate of Spynie, with
Kinneddar, Aikenhead, Monaughty, and Aslisk, to his
brother-in-law, James, Earl of Fife, and thus terminated
his connection with Spynie. The Brodie family possessed
the estate for about 70 years. The Duffs have been pro-
prietors for about a century, four Earls of Fife succes-
sively having held it.
KINTRAE.
In a charter of Bishop Bricius, of date 1203-1222,
founding the chaplainry of the Castle of Duffus, mention
is made of the Church of Kintrae in the following terms :
— " Ad viam que vadit de veteri ecclesia de Kyntra," i.e.,
To the road which goes down to the old Church of Kyntrae.
In this charter, this Church is three times stated to be old.
Lambert, chaplain to William the Lion, was rector, and
appears, under the designation of Parson of Kintrae, as
witness to a deed executed between the years 1187 and
1203. The Churches of Kintrae and Spynie were united
by Andrew, Bishop of Moray, prior to 1242. Not a ves-
tige of Kintrae Church or Churchyard now remains,
although the site of the latter is still traceable in the
centre of a field on the south-west corner of Westfield.
It has been remarked that it has scarcely grown anything
to reward the agricultural enterprise that desecrated it
with the ploughshare.
MYRESIDE.
This was Church land, and, at an early date, was cer-
tainly composed almost entirely of moor, marsh, and
118 ESTATE OF MYRESIDE IN THE PARISH OF SPYNIE.
woodland, and only by slow degrees, and under the fos-
tering care of the Bishops, was converted partly into
arable ground. On the north side, it was washed by the
waters of the loch, and on the south bounded by the
lands of Bishopmill. At the period of the Reformation,
it was occupied by five tenants. It was a part of the
land granted by Bishop Patrick Hepburn to the Regent
Earl of Moray at the Reformation. We find the lands
referred to in a charter granted by Alexander Douglas,
Bishop of Moray, in favour of James, Earl of Moray, after
the restoration of Episcopacy, in 1606. They continued
in Lord Moray's family probably till near the close of the
17th century, when they were sold to Sutherland of
Kinsteary (afterwards designed of Greenhall), and succes-
sively held in property by John Sutherland of Greenhall,
and his son, Lawrence Sutherland. By the latter, they
were sold, prior to the year 1770, to James, Earl of
Findlater and Seafield, in whose family they still continue.
It may be here remarked that the Findlater family
had no property in Morayshire prior to the middle of
last centur}'.
In 1758 the Baronies of Rothes, Easter Elchies, and
Edinvillie were purchased from John Grant, Baron of
Exchequer, and between that date and 1770, the estates
of Birnie, Main, Linkwood, Bishopmill, Myreside, and
Burgh Briggs were acquired by the Findlater family.
In the year 1772 a very considerable improvement
was made, partly on Myreside, and partly on the Bishop-
mill lands, by planting about 150 acres with Scotch fir.
It was moorland and very bleak, producing no pasture
and only a covering of short, dry heath, and did not
bring in a farthing of rent. The plantation was made at
very small expense, and the thinnings soon repaid the
outlay. The droppings of the needles of the fir enriched
the soil, and, after the lapse of 30 years, an experiment
was made in attempting the improvement of a few acres.
It was found that the ground made tolerably arable land.
From time to time this has been repeated, until almost
the whole wood has been removed, and converted into
good arable ground at a moderate expense. The farm of
Newfield has been partly made out from the ground
covered^ with wood, and that of Woodlands entirely so ;
and both in a favourable season, when rain abounds, yield
ANCIENT DISPUTES ABOUT THE LANDS OF FYNROSSY. 119
good crops of corn, turnips, and grass. The wood grown
was of excellent quality, and not only amply repaid
expenses but gave a good return in the way of rent to the
proprietor. In the progress of events, part of the farm of
Myreside has thus been added to Newfields and Wood-
lands, and the boundaries with the adjoining estate of
Bishopmill have been considerably changed.
During the latter part of last century, the lands of
Myreside were tenanted by Mr. Lawrence Sutherland of
Greenhall, who sold the property to the Earl of Findlater,
thereafter by Mr. Hugh Tod, both well-known men.
Since that time the farm has been well enclosed with
substantial stone dykes, and formed into neat and con-
venient lots adapted for modern husbandry, and the land
is well farmed by Mrs. Russell, the present tenant.
FINDBASSIE.
This estate, anciently called Fynrossy, stands on the
west side of Myreside, and is bounded by it on the east
and south, by Quarrelwood on the west, and by the now
dry bed of the Loch of Spynie on the north. In ancient
times it was principally grass and woodland, with a little
corn-land on the north side. It was washed by the sea
when the loch was salt water ; and, when it became fresh,
there was abundance of coarse star-grass on the marsh
beside the water, and on the four holmes or islets belong-
ing to the estate. Being on the north side of the hill, it
is not so sweet and sunny as upon the southern slopes,
but still it is a pleasant retired residence. It was Church
land, and even after it was feued out by the Bishop
of Moray, it still held of him as the superior, and, in some
measure, claimed his protection. The first mention of
the propert}7 is in a dispute between Walter de Moravia
and Andrew, Bishop of Moray, about the use of the wood
and moor of Spynie, and " Fynrossy," which appears to
have been amicably settled by agreement, on the 10th
October, 1226. It is again referred to in a dispute on the
same subject between Simon, Bishop of Moray, and Fris-
kinus, Lord of Duffus, in 1248. The lands were feued
out by Alexander, Bishop of Moray, to John Forbes of
that ilk, and Margaret Forbes, his spouse, for good and
faithful service and assistance, on 18th July, 1378. They
were resigned again into the hands of the Bishop by John
120 THE SEVERAL PROPRIETORS OF FINDHASSIE.
Flathson, Mair-General of the diocese, in the year 1395.
A charter of feu farm was granted by Patrick Hepburn,
Bishop of Moray, with consent of the Chapter, to James
Innes of Rothmakenzie, and Catherine Gordon, his spouse,
dated at the Cathedral Church, 6th November, 1540, at a
feu-duty of 15 merks. 1 mart, 1 sheep, 2 dozen capons, 2
bolls of oats, with fodder, and 40s. for 6 bolls of dry mul-
ture. Another charter was granted to the same James
Innes on 7th April, 1545, and a charter, confirming a sale
by Alexander Innes of Crombie, with consent of Elizabeth
Forbes, his wife, to George Sinclair, son of George, Earl of
Caithness, reserving the Bishop's Moss, otherwise the
Laverock Moss, dated at the Palace of Spynie, 26th May,
3569. In the latter part of the 16th century the estate
was in possession of Robert Leslie, second son of George,
Earl of Rothes, by Lady Margaret Crichton, his first wife,
only daughter of William, Lord Crichton, by the Lady
Cicely, his wife, second daughter to King James II. of
Scotland. Robert Leslie was the immediate younger
brother of the gallant Norman Leslie, Master of Rothes,
and when his brother was forfeited as accessory to the
murder of Cardinal Beaton, Robert should have succeeded
to the Earldom, but his father, for some reason, passed
him over, and, with consent of the Crown, got the title
and estate of Rothes settled upon Andrew Leslie, his son
by a second marriage — a most unjust proceeding. All
that Robert got in lieu of it was Findrassie, and some
other lands in Moray and Ross. The reason of Robert
being deprived of the estate and titles of Rothes arose
probably from the fact that Andrew Leslie, his half-
brother, married Grizzel Hamilton, daughter of Sir James
Hamilton of Evandale, natural brother of the Duke of
Chatelherault, then Regent of Scotland, by whose influ-
ence the succession both to the estate and titles of
Rothes was settled upon Andrew Leslie and Grizzel
Hamilton, to the deprivation of the family of the first
marriage.
The family of Leslie were considerable improvers, and
appear to have done a good deal in that way both in
Moray and Ross, particularly in the way of planting.
These improvements were executed in the time of Abra-
ham Leslie, who was a man of enlarged mind, had seen
much of the world, and who had the means of doing so.
THE LESLIES OF FINDRASSIE. 121
The moors of Findrassie were planted with Scotch fir.
The trees have now reached maturity, and being of fine
quality yield a rich return to the present proprietors.
The present mansion-house of Findrassie has the ap-
pearance of having been erected about a century ago, and
was certainly built by Abraham Leslie. It is a commodi-
ous dwelling of the old Scotch style, which could easily
be improved by giving it a new front. The garden is
large, and bears great cropk of fruit, and is well-walled.
The grounds are well laid out and pretty extensive.
After the death of Mr. Charles Leslie, in 1807, the estates
both in Moray and Ross were soon disposed of by his
successors, and, in the short period of eighteen years, the
whole were sold, and the family landless.
During Colonel Grant's occupancy of the estate, a
period of about ten years, considerable improvements
were made by planting and embellishment, and some
new fields added on the west side of the Duffus road, by
grubbing out the fir trees, and converting the ground
into arable land. Also a good deal of draining and fenc-
ing took place. Colonel Grant died about the year 1835,
.and his Trustees sold the estate in June, 1836, to James
Ogilvie Tod, Esquire, who had been in the Civil Service
in India, and had then lately returned with a fortune.
Mr. Tod did not long enjoy the property, having died
the following year, and left the estates in the hands of
Trustees, for behoof of his only child, Helen Tod, now
Mrs. Forster.
See " Laurus Lesbceana," published by the Jesuit
Fathers of the Scotch Mission, on the Continent, in 1692,
where there is an account of the four first Lairds of Fin-
drassie ; also, an account of the Leslies of Findrassie, by
the late Colonel Leslie of Balquhain.
QUARREL WOOD, NOW CALLED QUARRYWOOD.
This estate, in its present bounds, is much more exten-
sive than it was in ancient times. It now comprehends
Quarrywood, Loanhead, Kintrae, Rosebrae, Leggat, Rose-
haugh, and other farms, and extends to the top of the
hill bounding Morriston, Sheriffmill. and Aldroughty, at
the south. In old writings it is written " Querelwode,"
" Correilwod," and " Quarelwode ; " and, as it had this
name before there were quarries in the hill, it may be
122 ORIGIN OF QUARRELWOOD ; VARIOUS PROPRIETORS.
somewhat difficult to ascertain the meaning of the word.
The word " Quarrel," in old writings, sometimes means a
quarry of stones ; it also sometimes stands for game, or
the engines by which game is killed. The name may,
therefore, mean either the Quarrywood, by which it is now
known, or the wood of game, or in which game is killed.
It sufficiently answers to either of these appellations.
It is probable that the whole, or greater part, of this
estate, in ancient times, formed part of the Earldom of
Moray, as some of the farms continued to do until a very
late date.
The first proprietor of Quarrel wood, of whom we have
any distinct account, is Sir Robert Lauder, or Lavedre.
His father, also Sir Robert, was Justiciary of Lothian,
and Ambassador to England, in the time of King Robert
Bruce, and engaged in similar service for King David
Bruce. Both father and son seem to have been present at
the battle of Halidon Hill, in 1333, after which fatal
event the younger Sir Robert, being Justiciary of the
North, hastened to occupy the Castle of Urquhart, on
Loch Ness, one of the few fortalices which held out
against the power of Edward of England. It is supposed
that at this time he acquired the lands of Quarrelwoodr
Grieshop, Brightmony, and Kinsteary, which continued
to be possessed by his descendants, in the female line, for
many generations. He designates himself as " Robertus
de Lavadre, Dominus de Quarrelwood, in Moravia."
This Robert Lauder obtained a charter from John Pil-
more, Bishop of Moray, for good services, of the half
davoch lands of Aberbreachy, and the lands of Auch-
munie, within the Barony of Urquhart, for payment of
four merks yearly, dated at Elgin, in the feast of St.
Nicholas, 1333. He founded a chaplainry in the Cathe-
dral Church of Moray, at the Altar of St. Peter, out of his
lands of Brightmony and Kinsteary, and Mill of Auldearn,
for his own soul, and those of his ancestors and succes-
sors, and particularly for the soul of Hugh, Earl of Ross.
The deed is dated at Dunfermline the 1st May, 1362,
which gift is confirmed by a writ from King David Bruce,
dated at Elgin, the 10th May, in the 38th year of his
reign. Sir Robert Lauder is said to have had a family of
sons and daughters. One daughter was married to Sir
Robert Chisholm, and her father conveyed to her, or her
THE LAVEROCK MOSS ; INCHBROCK ; IXCHAGGAKTY. 123
husband, in her right, the lands of Quarrelwood, Kin-
steary, Brightmony, and others.
He had a daughter, Janet, married to Hugh Rose of
Kilravock, to whom he conveyed various lands in Strath-
nairn. He is supposed to have had no heir-male of his
own body, and to have been succeeded by his brother,
John Chishdlm, who was again succeeded by his son,
Robert, who had a daughter and only child Morella., pro-
prietor of the lands of Quarrelwood, Brightmony, Kin-
steary, &c. — the heir-male of the Chisholms succeeding to
the paternal estate in Strathglass. Morella Chisholm
married Alexander Sutherland, third laird of Duffus, of
that name, who thereupon added to his armorial bearings
a boar's head erased, being part of the arms of Chisholm.
(See " Morays of Duffus," above, pages 84, 89, vol. II.)
The small farm of Hill of Quarrywood, or Laverock
Loch, tenanted by Mr. Alexander Lawson, is curiously
situated, in the midst of the extensive fir wood on the
hill. Although within two miles of the town of Elgin, it
is a spot of extreme solitude, and has the appearance of a
clearance in an American forest. The eastern part of the
farm is the bed of an old morass. In the time of the
Bishops, it was a moss, attached to Spynie, and called the
Laverock Moss. When the peats were all dug out, it be-
came a shallow lake, on which the young men of Elgin
used to skate in winter. By the growth of long grass in
it, the loch was converted into a mere marsh, which was
drained by Mr. Lawson some years ago, and is now con-
verted'into an arable field of some extent, in which all
kinds of crops are grown.
WESTFIELD.
The estate of Westfield consists of the lands of Inch-
brock, Inchaggarty, and Westfield proper. The two
former point to a period when the sea ebbed and flowed
in the Lowlands of Moray, and when the lands of West-
field were submerged in the waves. The time when the
sea receded from Westfield is uncertain, but it must have
been within a comparatively recent period, and when the
Saxon or English language had taken root in the land.
Previous to that time, Inchbrock and Inchaggarty had
been islands of the sea : — the former the Isle of Brocks or
Badgers, and the latter the Priest's Island.
124 DESCRIPTION OF WESTFIELD IN OLD TIMES.
The estate of Westfield is described in the titles as fol-
lows : — " All and whole the towns and lands of Westfield
and Inchaggarty, with the manor place, houses, biggings,
yards, orchards, mills, mill lands, parts, pendicles, and
universal pertinents of the same, lying within the parish
of Spynie and Sheriffdom of Elgin and Forres : As also
all and whole the town and lands of Inchbrock, with the
houses, biggings, yards, orchards, tofts, crofts, parts, pen-
dicles, and universal pertinents thereof, as the same were
formerly occupied and possessed by the deceased James
and George Dunbarof Inchbrock, lying within the parish
of Spynie, Regality thereof, and Sheriffdom of Elgin and
Forres, aforesaid, together with the teinds, parsonage and
vicarage of said several lands, and the whole seats and
lofts, and the burial-place belonging to the said lands in
the Kirk of Spynie." The lands of Inchbrock were
Church lands, and continued in possession of the Bishops
until the period of the Reformation, when that great
dilapidator of the Bishoprick, Patrick Hepburn, feued the
same, with consent of the Chapter, for a sum of 200
merks, to Alexander Anderson, in Wester Alves, and
Alexander Anderson, burgess of Elgin, his son, and Bessy
Gordon, his son's wife. The lands seem to have been pre-
viously possessed by Alexander Anderson, the father, as
tenant. Westfield was never Church land, and the earliest
accounts we have of the estate show that it belonged to the
Earldom of Moray. The last of the Dunbars of Grange-
hill (mentioned above by Shaw) sold the estate to Sir
James Grant of Grant on the 1st June, 1769, who sold it
to Joseph Robertson, merchant in London, on the 17th
June, 1774 ; who sold it to Francis Russell, advocate, on
the 24th Oct., 1781. Mary Bannerman, his wife, conveyed
it to Thomas Sellar, writer, Elgin, on the 2nd May, 1808 ;
whose son, Patrick Sellar, heired it on the 16th Feb.,
1818 ; whose Trustees sold it to Hugh Maclean in May,
1862. In less than a century, Westfield has changed
proprietors no fewer than six times.
BISHOPMILL.
The small property of Bishopmill * has been so mixed
up latterly with the improved lands of Myreside that it
* This estate seems to have been known in ancient times by
the name of Frankoklaw.
ORIGINAL CORN-MILL AT BISHOP MILL. 125
is now impossible to separate them. It was originally
very small, comprising the ridge of land overlooking the
Lossie, and extending only a little way back. It now
forms a kind of semicircle, running back nearly three
quarters of a mile between Deanshaugh at the east, and
Morriston at the west.
It is probable a mill was erected on the Lossie here as
early as the time when Bishop Bricius settled at Spynie,
in the year 1203. When the Episcopal seat was fixed
there, the convenience of a mill must have been a matter
of great importance. The first particular mention of it,
however, does not occur until the year 1393, when there
seems to have been a small village there, perhaps a few
houses. It is stated to be near the town of Elgin. In
the Rental of the Bishoprick, in 1565, the lands are let to
six tenants, at the gross rent of four pounds, three quar-
ters of a mart, three sheep, four dozen of capons, three
lambs, three fowls, three bolls of oats, with fodder, nine
bolls of dry multure, for grassum, and other services ; a
small croft at twenty-five shillings, six capons, one fowl,
and 8s. 8d. of mart silver ; four small houses, being the
extent of the village, at twelve shillings, and twelve
capons ; the mill, with knaveship, and outsucken, at four-
pounds, one dozen capons, one pig, and the support of the
mill. In the year 1566, Bishop Patrick Hepburn granted
a charter of feu farm of the town and lands called " The
Bischopis Mylne," with the corn mill, the lands called
" The Acris," and four houses called " The foure Cott
Housis," in the same town, to James Innes of Drainie,
and Catherine Gordon, his wife, in liferent, and Robert
Innes, their son, and Helen Ross, his future spouse, in fee,
with liberty of digging turfs or peats in the moor called
" The Laverok Moss," alias " The Bischopis Moss," —
reserving to the Bishop, and all passing, the common road
which goes from the Palace of Spynie to Elgin, and also
the other road which goes by the cultivated land and the
moor, towards " Bischoppis Mylne," near the hill called
" Cuthilbyrnye Hill." * In the following century we find
Bishopmill in possession of Alexander Dunbar, son of
Robert Dunbar of Burgie. He married a Margaret Ayton,
but had no issue, and, dying in 1723, he left his estate to
* This name, " Cuthilbyrnye," appears to be now entirely
lost. It would be difficult to say where the spot is.
126 CUTHILBYRNIE AND DEANSHAUGH.
his nephew, John Dunbar of Burgle, advocate, who died
about the year 1750. His son, John Dunbar, sold the
• estate, with the Dean's House, in Elgin, to James Robert-
son, Provost of Elgin, who sold it to the 6th Earl of
Findlater, prior to 1770. The property has continued
in his Lordship's family ever since, with the exception of
the mill and mill croft, which for some time belonged to
James Miln, banker in Elgin, but were acquired by the
Earl again in the early part of the present century, and
has lately been feued out by the present proprietor, the
Earl of Seafield, to John Allan, who carries on a large
business at the mills in flour and meal. Shortly after the
Earl of Findlater purchased the estate, his Lordship
planted a considerable extent of moor ground, belonging
to Bishopmill and Myreside, with Scotch fir trees.
To ,the eastward of Bishopmill is the small property of
DEANSHAUGH, belonging to Adam Longmore, W.S., Edin-
burgh. I have great doubts, however, whether it is
within the bounds of the parish of Spynie, but rather
in St. Andrews.* As, however, it is generally reckoned
in Spynie, it may be described briefly. In the end of last
century these subjects belonged to John Ritchie, mer-
chant in Elgin, who erected on the Lossie a mill for the
manufactory of tobacco, a waulkmill, a flaxmill, and
bleaching machinery. This trade was carried on with
considerable success. After Ritchie's time, the property
was sold to John Forsyth, banker in Elgin, who left it to
his only daughter, wife of the late Adam Longmore, of the
Exchequer, and it now belongs to his son, Mr. Longmore,
W.S. The manufactory of tobacco, flax, and bleaching,
have, with the changes of the times, passed away, and the
only work now carried on is a sawmill. Mr. Longmore
has erected a very neat villa on the ground, and has
planted a number of ornamental trees, with a variety of
shrubs, and the place is kept in the greatest order and
neatness by his present tenants.
The parish of Elgin, perhaps, has the best claim to Deans-
haugh, with the low lands adjoining, for it is perfectly appar-
ent that at no very distant period the Lossie had flowed to the
eastward of it, and that it was then embraced in the Cathedral
grounds.
EARLY DATES AND NAMES OF MORRISTOUN. 127
MORRISTOX.
This estate was Church land, and belonged to the
Bishop of Moray. It is bounded on the south by the
Lossie, on the east by Bishopmill, on the north by Quar-
relvvood, and on the west by Sheriffmill. It is so blended
now with the Earl of Fife's other lands that its ancient
boundaries can hardly be known. It consists of a haugh
of considerable extent, lying along the Lossie, of a light,
gravelly soil, with a considerable extent of hill ground.
On the slope extending from the fir plantations to the
road passing to Bishopmill, this hill ground had probably,
at some distant date, been improved from the moor. The
dwelling-house is very pleasantly situated on a rising
ground, near the river, a fine, dry, warm, and sheltered
situation, having some young plantations and a few old
trees about it. The name of the property is written vari-
ously— " Murrastoun," " Morristoun," and "Murrays-
toun." * The first notice we have of it is contained in a
charter granted by David, Bishop of Moray, to William,
the son of Adam, the son of Stephen, burgess of Elgin, of
the half davoch land of " Medilhalch," which lies between
the land of Wthyrspyuy (Sheriffmiln), on the one part,
and the land of Frankoklaw (Bishopmiln), on the other
part, on the north side of the water of " Lossyn." This
charter is dated at Elgin, the 23rd March, 1309, and the
reddendo is four shillings annually, one half payable at
the feast of Pentecost, and the other half at the feast of
Saint Martin, with other services, and the payment of
the usual multure at the mill of Mallathy (supposed
Bishopmill). The next charter is from William de
Spyny, Bishop of Moray, without date, but supposed to
be at or prior to the year 1400, in favour of Megota de
Moravia, daughter of John de Moravia, proprietor of
these lands, on her marriage with John de Dolas. It is
probable that from this family of Moray, or de Moravia,
that the name of Moraystouri had been given to the
property. The estate was in the following century pos-
sessed by Innes of Crombie, as a vassal of the Bishop of
Moray, and it is contained in the rental of the Bishoprick
* The property is also called Middlehaugh. Auchter Spynie,
or Sheriffmill, was called Upperhaugh, and Burgh Briggs,
Westerhaugh. (See Old Statistical Account, vol. 10, page 628).
128 FRANKOKLAW THE OLD NAME OF MORRISTON.
in 1565. We find a charter of confirmation by Patrick
Hepburn, Bishop of Moray, dated at the Palace of Spynie,
21st March, 1570, confirming a sale by Alexander Innes
of Crommye, with consent of Isabella Forbes, his spouse,.
in favour of John Annand, Provost of the Burgh of Elgin,
and Janet Gumming, his spouse, of the lands of" Murras-
toun," which lie between the lands of Uchter Spynie,.
now called " Scherefemyln," at the west, and the lands of
" Frankoklaw " * at the east, on the north side of Lossie,
with the piece of land called Burrow Briggs, on the south
side of Lossie. After the above description the following
words occur : — " Reservand to me and my airs, ye haill hill
callit the Hill of Murrastoun, as ye merche stanas sail be-
set in at 3^6 end of the lang riggis descendand nort and
sowt, except the quarrel thairof, and stanes to be win
yairin, quhilk I will to stand in commountie to ye said
Jhone and his airs." The feu-duty payable to the Bishop
is four pounds sixteen shillings. In the year 1606, when
Episcopacy was restored in Scotland, the lands of Morris-
ton seem, by some means, to have been recovered by
Alexander Douglas, Bishop of Moray, and in the year
1609 conveyed to Alexander Douglas, his son, and Mary
Innes, his spouse, along with Spynie and Burgh Briggs,
From Alexander Douglas the estate passed to Gavin
Douglas, perhaps his brother, who had a great deal of
property in Elgin. John Douglas, his son, succeeded.
He was served heir to his father in a great variety of
burgh lands, before the Magistrates of Elgin, in 1654, and
he was also served heir before the Sheriff of Elgin, in the
half davoch land of Middlehaugh, or Morriston, on 28th
December, 1655. On 23rd October, 1665, John Douglas
wadset these lands to Robert Martin, writer in Edinburgh,
for 8260 merks, and in 1668 he discharged the right of
reversion, and Martin became absolute proprietor. His
right was confirmed by charter from Murdo Mackenzie,
Bishop of Moray, the superior, dated 22nd October, 1672.
He also acquired about the same time great part of the
Douglas burgh lands, in and about Elgin.
Robert Martin was a very remarkable public man in
his day, and, as little is now known of his history, I shall
here endeavour to state what I have found out about
him. He was the son of Robert Martin, burgess of
* This name, Frankoklaw, is now entirely lost.
MRS. J. P. MARTIN DAUGHTER OF A GLASGOW PROVOST.
Elgin, and received a liberal education from his father,
who seems to have been a person of some substance.
The date of his birth may have been about the years
1615 or 1620. Being bred to the law, he went to
Edinburgh in early life, and, after having finished his
education, he commenced business there as a writer.
He married a Jean Porterfield, a daughter of George
Porterfield, Provost of Glasgow, about 1660.
When the Episcopal party got the entire ascendancy,,
in 1662, and the Presbyterian side entirely put down, he
must have become a marked man, and deprived of his
public situations. After this period he spent his time
partly in Edinburgh, attending to his own business and
to the interests of his party in Church and State, and he
was also a good deal at his residence in Elgin, looking
after his properties in the North. He was a great friend
of Lord Brodie, and was occasionally at Brodie House.
In the Diary of Lord Brodie we find many notices of Mr.
Martin, who died either in April or May, in Holland,
being exhausted by weakness, disease, and increasing
years, and the troubles of these distracted times. His
estates were all forfeited to the Crown; but his wife,
Jean Porterfield, had the influence, through her friends,
to procure a gift of the lands of Morriston in favour of
herself, which is dated at Whitehall, the 9th November,
1686.
By the 18th Act of William and Mary, the forfeiture
was rescinded, and John Martin, the eldest son of the
family, made up a title as heir to his father, by re tour
dated 1st December, 1691. John Martin would appear
to have executed a conveyance in favour of his mother
in 1691, and probably died in 1692. Mrs. Martin, his
mother, was infefted in 1696, and was a party to a con-
tract of marriage between her son, William Martin,
writer in Edinburgh, and Margaret Lockhart, only daugh-
ter of Mungo Lockhart of Harwood, dated 4th March,
1704. Mrs. Martin, by that deed, dispones to her son the
lands of Aikenway, with salmon fishing; the lands of
Collie, Hillfold, and Whitewreath ; the lands of Kirktown
of St. Andrews, Kirkhill, Easter and Wester Calcots,
Middlehaugh, or Morriston, Lady Hill, crofts and roods of
land about Elgin; and Margaret Lockhart dispones to.
William Martin and herself, and the longest liver of them,.
VOL. II. 9
130 THE MARTIN FAMILY BROUGHT TO NOUGHT.
in liferent, and the heirs male or female of the marriage,
the lands of Little Harwood, Cowhill, and Dybog. The
Martin family were riot prosperous. By the year 1750,
the most of their lands had been sold, and what remained,
viz., the estate of Harwood, in the west of Scotland, and
Morriston, with part of Barflathills, Baxter's Croft, and
some other crofts about Elgin, were drowned in debt, and
a process of ranking and sale having been brought by the
creditors, the lands were sold by the Court of Session,
and Morriston was purchased by William, Earl of Fife, in
1750. In this family the property has remained ever
since, which makes an excellent addition to their lands
in this parish, having a fine frontage towards Elgin.
SHERIFFMILL.
The lands of SherifFmill are beautifully situated, hav-
ing, the Lossie for their boundary at the east and south,
Aldroughty on the west, and the fine oak forest at the
north, sheltering it from the cold northern blasts. It has
a light gravelly but kindly soil, and, with abundance of
summer showers, it produces good crops of all kinds of
grain. The old name of the property is Auchter or
Uchter Spynie, and it has also been called Upperhaugh.
The first notice we have of this property is contained in
a grant from Andrew, Bishop of Moray, to Walter de
Moravia, Lord of Duffus,* of a site for a mill on the
Lossie, dated the 6th of the Ides of October, 1237. The
words of the charter are : — " Dedisse et concessisse et
hac carta nostra confirmasse Waltero de Moravia, et here-
dibus suis, unum situm Molendini super Lossy, in terra
nostra de Uchterspyny." The mill was accordingly
erected by the family of de Moravia, and until nearly our
own time continued a separate estate from the lands, as
we shall have occasion to show hereafter. The mill is
also mentioned in a charter by Archibald, Bishop of Moray,
to William de Fedreth, and Dame Christiana de Moravia,
his wife, who had rights to it as proprietors of the third
* The descendants of the family of Moravia are still the high-
est in rank in Scotland. Among others, are the ducal houses
of Sutherland, Athole, Hamilton, and Buccleuch, and the late
Dukes of Douglas and Queensberry, and many nobles of
less rank.
THE LANDS OF SHERIFFMILL OR UCHTERSPYNIE. 131
of Duffus. This charter is dated at Kinneddar, in Moray,
on the Sabbath day next before the Feast of All Saints, in
the year 1294. With regard to the lands. The earliest
notice of the lands is contained in a charter by David,
Bishop of Moray, dated at Elgin the 23rd March, 1309,
in favour of William, the son of Adam, the son of Stephen,
burgess of Elgin, whereby he confirms to him the whole
land of Wtyrspyny, in excambion for the lands of Qwyt-
ford and Innerlothy,* the mill of Innerlothy and Milton,
but reserving the site of the mill, which is called the mill
of the Sheriff of Elgin, upon the water of Lossyn. This
is the first notice of the name Sheriffmill, which may have
arisen from the family of de Moravia being Sheriffs of the
shire of Elgin, and of their successors, the Cheynes, being
Sheriffs of the shire of Banff. In a charter by Bishop
Hepburn, in 1570, the lands get the name of Uchter-
spynie, but are there said to be now called " Schere-
femyln." In the Rental of the Bishoprick, in 1565, the
proprietor, or vassal, is called "Alexander Urquhard,"
Provost of Forres, perhaps Urquhart of Burdsyards. In
the year 1639, Sheriffmill was purchased by Thomas
Calder, merchant in Elgin, a- descendant of Calder ot
Assuanlie, a cadet of the house of Calder. He was Pro-
vost of Elgin in 1665 and 1669. He was succeeded by
his son, Sir James Calder, who acquired the estate 01
Muirton, in Kinloss parish, and who was created a Baronet
of Nova Scotia, in 1686. Either he or his father erected
the fine old turreted mansion in the High Street of Elgin,
exactly where North Street and the Assembly Rooms now
stand, which, with its extensive gardens behind, must
have been a very handsome residence.
Sir James Calder, and William King of Newmiln, car-
ried on a very large foreign trade from the port of Find-
horn, exporting barley, malt, hides, tallow, cured beef,
salmon, and other commodities, and importing wines,
brandy, tobacco, sugar, spices, dried fruits, and various
other articles, in return. The business must have been a
large one, and the export of malt, in particular, was great,
previous to the union with England. Sir James Calder
was succeeded by his son, Sir Thomas, who married, in
* The lands above referred to are probably Whitefield and
Inverlochty. If there was a mill at Inverlochty, the fall of
water in these days must have been much greater than now.
132 DR. WALKER'S MODE OF HORSE-HOEING HUSBANDRY.
1711, a daughter of Sir John Scott of Aucrum, by whom
he had a family. His father had left the estate much em-
barrassed, and Sir Thomas was unable to keep it. Wm.
Duff of Dipple, father of William, first Earl of Fife,
acquired the estate in the beginning of last century, and
it still continues the property of the Earl of Fife. The
mill of Sheriffmill has gone through many more changes.
Being a part of the estate of Duffus, on the failure of the
family of de Moravia, it fell, in the proportion of two-
thirds, to Reginald Cheyne, and one-third to William de
Fedderet. In the end of the 15th century the proprietors
of the mill were — the Earl Marischal, Douglas of Pitten-
dreich, and Sutherland of Duffus. In 1631, Earl Maris-
chal sold his third to James Sutherland, tutor of Duffus,
and in 1659 Alexander, Lord Duffus, purchased from
Sir Ludovick Gordon of Gordonstown, the successor of
Douglas of Pittendreich, another third, so that the whole
mill and mill lands then belonged to the Duffus family,
and continued in their possession until 1707, when, with
the rest of the Duffus estate, they were sold to Archibald
Dunbar of Thunderton. His successor, Archibald Dun-
bar of Newton, sold the mill to William, Lord Braco, in
1740, who settled it upon Arthur Duff of Orton, his
youngest son. The late Sir Archibald Dunbar re-pur-
chased the mill formerly pertaining to the Duffus estate,
from Mr. Arthur Duff, about the end of last century, and
sold it to the late James, Earl of Fife, on 22nd June,
1818. The mill and adjoining estate are, since that
date, one united property, belonging to the Fife family.
In the latter part of last century, the farm of Sheriff-
mill was occupied by James Walker, doctor of medicine,
a very eccentric person, who had been a practitioner in
Elgin of the old school. He had married the Dowager
Lady Westfield and settled at Sheriffmill. His mode of
farming was to keep the land exceedingly clean, to drill
the crops, and use no manure. In the Old Statistical
Account of the parish we find the following statement
regarding Dr. Walker's farming :— " It will not be deemed
improper to take notice of the cultivation of the farm of
Sheriffmill, rented by James Walker, Esq., M.D. This
gentleman, in the early part of his life, entered with all
theardour of enthusiasm into the horse-hoeing husbandry,
on the plan of JETHRO TULL, in which he has ever since
MODEST TOMBSTONE OF DR. WALKER, SHERIFFMILL. 133
persevered, with unfailing steadiness raising crops of
wheat, barley, and beans, without a particle of dung,
always following the intervals (about three feet) for each
succeeding crop, and thus completely demonstrating the
effect of cultivation without the use of manure. Although
•every operation has been performed with the nicest
accuracy, and in its proper season, and though the soil of
Sheriffmill seems to be well calculated for this kind of
husbandry, being light and- sandy, yet the result has not
been such as to encourage imitation. The corn is indeed
superior in quality to any in the country, but the quan-
tity, by the acre, much less than is raised in the broad-
cast way, on the same kind of soil, well ploughed and
manured."
Dr. Walker died about the end of last century, or
beginning of the present one, and was interred in the
Elgin Cathedral, not far from the west gate, on the right
hand side of the entry. His tombstone was very small,
with the simple words " James Walker, M.D." on it. The
stone has been removed, and some other occupant has
seized the ground, and so the worthy doctor has now
nothing to mark where his ashes were laid. Since his
time more than one tenant has possessed the farm. Lat-
terly it has been occupied, along with the mill, by the
late John Lawson, and now by his son, Alexander
Lawson. By the late Mr. Lawson the farm has been
•entirely enclosed with substantial stone dykes, and laid
off in neat and regular fields. The land is now laboured
from the adjoining farm of Oldmills, and the steading here
is not required. The old farm-house, the mansion of the
•estate, was long occupied by respectable tenants. The last
of them was the late James Me His, long tenant of Spynie,
who died here some years ago, at a very advanced period
of life. Since his death the venerable dwelling has been
entirely removed, and all vestiges of it carried away.
SCROGGIEMILL.
On the west end of the estate of Sheriffmill, and not
far by the road from the lower mill, although, by the
windings of the river, at a considerable distance, for the
stream here takes a most tortuous course, stands Scroggie-
mill. It is only an oatmeal mill. It is well situated,
with a great command of water, but seems now to be of
134 ESTATES OF SCROGGIEMILL AND ALDROUGHTY.
little use or value. I have not found out when this build-
ing was erected. It has no appearance of any great
antiquity, and perhaps is not older than the early part
of last century. It was likely built by the Earl of Fife,
for the accommodation of his tenants, before he acquired
Sheriffmill. The removal of this mill would be a great
improvement to the country. On the bank, above the
mill, there are beautiful situations for small villas. The
ground looks due south, warm and sunny ; protected from
the north winds by the Quarrywood plantations, and
having a delightful view of the windings of the river. It
is wonderful that such pleasant sites have not long since
been eagerly purchased, or taken on feu.
ALDROUGHTY.
This is the most westerly estate in the parish, being
bounded partly by the Lossie, and partly by the lands of
Inverlochty and Mosstowie, at the south, Sheriffmill at
the east, Quarrelwood at the north, and the parish of
Alves at the west. It consists of a long narrow field,
extending along the river, at the east side, of light, sandy
land. At the west side the land is of a rich alluvial soil,,
and bears excellent crops, but liable to be flooded in wet
weather. The name Aldroughty, or, as it was written of
old, " Aldrochty," is said to mean the mischievous burn.
This is not very applicable to its present state, for there
is now no burn here ; but it may have meant the Lossie,
which, in ancient times, running on a higher level, and
with a stronger current, may have both flooded the lands
and cut its banks more than now ; or the water of Lochty,
now entering the Lossie farther up, may have, in days of
old, done so here ; or some of the Mosstowie burns may
have then terminated their course at this spot. In short,
with so many changes, it is useless to conjecture what
the origin or cause of the name may be. The house of
Aldroughty is pleasantly situated, on a high bank above
the river, and is a conspicuous object from a distance.
This estate was Church land, and part of the Bishoprick
of Moray. It seems, however, to have been early feued
out, and in the 14th century was held of the Bishop by a
family of the name of Sibbald. An inquisition was held
at Bishopmiln on the penult day of August, 1393, before
the Bishop and a jury of sixteen ; among whom we find
EARLY CHARTERS OF THE LANDS OF ALDROUGHTY. 135
the names of Sir Robert Chisholm, John de Dolles of that
ilk, and Alexander Innes of Innes, by which it was found
that Robert Sibbald died vest, and seized, as of fee, in the
lands of Aldroughty, with the pertinents. The Bishop
must, however, have afterwards resumed possession of
this estate, for I find that Bishop Patrick Hepburn, with
consent of the Chapter, on the last day of March, 1554,
granted an assedation of "Meikle Innerlochtie and Auld-
rochtie," in favour of David and Thomas Hepburn, in
life rent, for payment of £4 13s. 4d. yearly in money, be-
sides grain and other rents. After the Reformation, this
property, with many others, was conveyed to James,
Earl of Moray, Regent of Scotland, by Bishop Patrick
Hepburn, by which he secured his own comfort and
safety, and a right to dispose of the remaining lands of
the diocese as he thought fit. In a charter of feu-farm
and novo damns, granted by Alexander Douglas, Bishop
of Moray, in favour of James, Earl of Moray, Lord Doune
and Abernethie, about the year 1606, we find, among a
long list of estates, the lands of Auldrochtie thereby con-
veyed, the feu-duty payable annually being £4 13s. 4d.
of money, three quarters of a mart, two sheep, two lambs,
two geese, twelve capons, two bolls of oats with fodder,
three bolls of barley for dry multure, and £1 lls. l|d. for
grassum, every three years. About half a century after
this, Aldroughty seems to have come into possession of
Lord Duffus' family, perhaps in the year 1653, when Lord
Duff'us purchased Ardgay and other lands from the Earl
of Moray. In the latter part of the 17th century it was
in possession (along with Mosstowie, which it joins) of
the Honourable William Sutherland of Roscommon, third
son of James, second Lord Duffus. This gentleman mar-
ried, in the year 1702, Helen Duff, eldest daughter of
William Duff of Dipple, and sister of William, Earl of
Fife. After the Rebellion, in 1715, we hear little more of
the Hon. Wm. Sutherland.
His widow, Helen Duff, better known by the name of
Lady Roscommon, was well cared for by her father, and
by her brother, William, Lord Braco, afterwards Earl of
Fife. She had the mansion-house or Castle of Quarrel-
wood for her residence, and a suitable allowance from her
husband's estate, and was much respected. From what
tradition reports of her, she had much of the strong sense
136 EARLY TENANTS OF ALDROUGHTY.
of her father's family. She was alive in 1736, and may
have lived many years after that time. After her death
the Castle of Quarrelwood was permitted to go to decay,
and was at last converted into a quarry, its materials
being used for erection of farm-houses and other build-
ings. The foundations were only finally removed about
thirty years ago.
Duff of Dipple, having large securities on Aldroughty
and Mosstowie, claimed from the Commissioners of the
forfeited estates to be put in possession of these proper-
ties under the deeds which he held from his son-in-law,
William Sutherland ; and special instructions were given
by him to his agent, Mr. Ludovick Brodie, Writer to the
Signet, to that effect, on 4th June, 1717. Dipple made
good his rights, and got possession of both Mosstowie and
Aldroughty, which continue to be the property of his
descendant, the Earl of Fife, to the present day.
A family of the name of Hepburn had Aldroughty,
either as tenants or feuars, under the Bishops and Earl of
Moray, during the end of the 16th and part of the 17th
century. They were also proprietors of the adjoining
lands of Inverlochty, of the lands of Tearie, in Dyke, and
part of Birnie. They were illegitimate descendants of
Bishop Patrick Hepburn. The male part of this family
eventually settled in the south of Scotland ; but in the
female line they have still many representatives in the
north. They were respectable people, and attained a
considerable position in the country. Eventually Inver-
lochty, as well as Aldroughty, were acquired by the
Duff family.
In the latter part of last century, the farm of Al-
droughty was tenanted by Alexander Donaldson, the
eldest son of William Donaldson, at Morriston. He mar-
ried a sister of the late John Lawson, at Oldmills, and had
three sons and a daughter, all dead long since. In the
present century it has been occupied by William Murdoch,
who had been in Calcutta. He left it in the year 1829.
It was then tenanted by George Taylor, who erected the
present handsome house, at a very considerable expense ;
planted trees and shrubberies, and laid off a fine early
garden, of excellent soil, sloping pleasantly to the river ;
of which we have many agreeable recollections in bygone
days. Taylor gave up the farm in 1841, and it was taken
LATTER TENANTS OF THE FARM OF ALDROUGHTY. 137
by William Turnbull, who possessed it until 1864, when
he died. Turnbull, although not a native of the parish,
had spent the years of his boyhood and youth there,
under the care of his relative, the Rev. Alexander Brown,
minister of Spjmie, and was much attached to it. He
was educated for a surgeon, and went into the service of
the East India Company, After serving his full time in
India, he returned to his native land in vigorous health,
but for some years had no settled home. He eventually
took up his abode at Aldroughty, where he spent the last
thirteen years of his life. He was an excellent scholar, a
great reader, and kept himself well informed in the best
literature and the new publications of the day. He was
a lively, pleasant person, social in his habits, enjoyed the
society of his friends, and was very hospitable ; in short,
a fine specimen of the East India gentleman of the old
school, most of whom have now passed away. The farm
is now tenanted by George Leslie, Sheriff-Clerk of Elgin-
shire, who keeps it in great order and high condition, and
has, at considerable expense and with great skill, com-
pleted the drainage.
We have stated before that the house is pleasantly
situated on the banks of the Lossie, which, being dammed
up by the mill of Scroggiemill, immediately adjoining
Aldroughty, gives the river the appearance of an exten-
sive lake. It is indeed a very beautiful sheet of water,
and, having such a fine stretch of woodland all along the
north side of it, no more pleasant spot can be found in the
country. It has all the advantage of being near the town
of Elgin, while, at the same time, it is quite secluded from
it, and it forms a most romantic, retired residence.]
(Young's Parish of Spynie.)
EPITAPHS IN THE CHURCHYARD OF SPYNIE.
The Church of Spynie was dedicated to the Holy
Trinity, and was one of the most ancient Churches of the
diocese. Here the Cathedral Church was first established
by Bishop Brice, and in 1224 it was removed therefrom
to Elgin, the reason assigned being " that the Cathedral,
besides being exposed to danger from being situated in a
very solitary place, that it happens that no valuable
commodity is found there, whence it frequently happens
that by the remote occasions of the clergy to buy neces-
138 CHURCHYARD OF SPYNIE.
saries for themselves, the attention to divine duties is
greatly interrupted."
Of the Castle of Spynie, close to the old churchyard,
and the Bishop's residence, we have spoken before.
In the loch now drained was an island called Mid-
hagarty — "the Priests' Isle." Perhaps here was an
ancient hermitage like St. Gernadius' at Ogston.
Henry, the Bishop's brother, was parson of Spynie in
1187. By the great charter of Bishop Brice, Spynie and
Kintray were constituted the ninth prebend. In 133G,
William was Canon. In the ancient Tax also the preb-
endary of Spynie was valued at 24 merks, with the vicar-
age. In 1488 John Stewart, prebendary, was one of the
Council anent the change of the clock of the Cathedral.
The old churchyard of the parish is a pleasant, sunny
spot ; has a beautiful situation, lying on the southern
slope of the hill, and commanding a fine view of the sur-
rounding country. It is well enclosed with a substantial
stone wall, and there are some thriving trees about it ;
but in the interior it is sadly neglected, and the ground is
covered with nettles and other noxious weeds, with quan-
tities of rubbish lying about, probably the remains of the
old Parish Church, the last remnant of which only fell
about twenty years ago.
A great many very old stones, too old to be read, and
some very old set down, particularly those of the Leslie
family. Their Family vault is a dark and very curious
place, with a Cross over the door-way, evidently thus a
pre-Reformation structure.
There were several Bishops of the Diocese interred here,
and perhaps by digging about the site of the old Church,
their monuments might still be found among the rubbish.
The other monumental tablets are not of great age, nor of
any very great interest ; but it may be proper to notice a
few of them, as throwing some light on parochial history.
None of the old landed families of the parish appear to
have had their burial-place here. The Leslies of Fin-
drassie had for a long time their place of interment in the
north aisle of St. Giles' Church in Elgin, and only used
the churchyard of Spynie latterly. Their tomb is in a
very neglected state ; but the monumental tablets on the
walls are still entire and legible ; some of them on the
floor are much covered with dust and earth, and illegible.
EPITAPHS IN THE CHURCHYARD OF SPYNIE. 139
I. Hie dormiunt in Christo, Duse Nobiles Robertas Leslie,
Dominus de Findresy, ejusque conjunx Joneta Elphinstone, ille
obiit 22nd Sept., anno 1588. Ilia M. R. O.
Grip Fast — Disce mori — Causa causit.
Robertas Leslie, Comitis, qui filius olim,
Rothusise fuerat simul, et suavissima conjunx
Elphinstonii soboles herois, conduntur in antro,
Hoc licet obscuro celebres pietate supersunt ;
Hos quondam binos Hymenseus junxit in unum
Corpus, et his vivis semper una voluntas,
Unus amor, domus una fuit, nunc lumine lasso,
Una duos iterum condit libitina sepultos.
" SUB SPE."
II. Here lyes the bodie of Mistress Isabella Leslie, Ladye
Burgie, who departed this life the 10th of Januarie, 1688.
rNoTE. — She was the second wife of Robert Dunbar of
Burgie, who died in 1690, and the second daughter of Robert
Leslie, third laird of Findrassie, by his wife, Isabel Forbes,
daughter of Abraham Forbes of Blackton.
III. Here lyes the bodie of Mistress Margaret Ayton, Lady
Bishopmiln, who departed this lyfe the ninth day of Septem-
ber, 1714, aged 56 years.
NOTE. — She was wife of Alexander Dunbar of Bishopmill,
and connected with the Leslies through her husband.
IV. Here lyes Abraham Leslie, Esquire of Findrassie, who
was heir-male of George, 4th Earl of Rothes, his Lordship
— being father of Robert Leslie, the first of the family of Fin-
drassie. He died at Findrassie House, 26th May, 1793 ; and
to the memory of an affectionate husband this monument is
erected by Mrs. Jean Leslie, his widow.
V. This stone is erected by Charles Leslie, in memory of his
mother, Margaret Gordon, lawful eldest daughter of Charles
Gordon of Glengerrack, and relict of John Leslie of Findrassie,
who died 26th December, 1764, aged 67, a lady who was
esteemed in life, diligent and active in her friendship, generous
and disinterested, a tender and affectionate parent, benevolent
and liberal to all, and at death a pattern of patience, fortitude,
and resignation ; and her children, Margaret, who died in the
7th year of her age ; and Margaret, who died the 5th year of
he^r age ; and Jean, who died also in the 5th year of her age ;
James, who died in nonage. Also in memory of the above
Charles Leslie, and his spouse, Margaret Macandrew.
140 EPITAPHS OF LESLIES OF FINDRASSIE AT SPYNIE.
VI. Erected by Charles Leslie, Esquire, in token of respect
to the memory of Margaret Macandrew, his spouse, who died
llth July, 1796, aged 79, a woman of solid sense, simple man-
ners, sincere piety, and virtuous conduct.
" Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints."
VII. On a flat stone in the Findrassie tomb is the fol-
lowing inscription : —
Here lyes Mrs. Margaret Leslie, aunt of Sir John Leslie of
Findrassie and Wardes, Baronet. She departed this life at
Findrassie House, on the 13th of May, 1811, aged 86; and
this monument is placed here to her respected memory by
direction of her nephew.
VIII. A. M. B. G. L. M. 1651.
IX. Here lyes Wm. Navchtie and Jannet, lawful children to
William Navchtie and Jean Stronach, in Bvrnside. Said
William died 10th May and Janet the last of July, 1679.
" And though after my skin worms destroy this body, in my
flesh shall I see God."
Memento mori.
X. In an old tomb, at the east end of the churchyard,
are the following inscriptions : —
Hie jacet in spem beatse resurrectionis, vir vere pius et pro-
bus R.D.M. Samuel Tulloh, Spyniensis Ecclesise, vigilantissimus
quondam pastor ; qui placidissime in Christo, obiit 1 1 die
Nov'bris, circiterhor. 12 merid, ann. Dom. MDCCVL, set. LXXV.,
et officii ibid fideliter administrati XLVI. Nee non pia et pudica
Elizabetha Gordon, unica ejusd. conjunx chariss. cum tribus
eorund. filiabus virginibus Agneta, Marjoria, et Joanna.
In quorum omniam piam gratam memoriam, hocce monu-
mentum ab ipso prsestruct. memoralia ut e hac inscriptione
denique exarand. ejusdem, et monument circumdat extruend,
curavit Alexr. Tulloh, predict. Samuel et Elizab. films unicus.
Translation by Monteith. — Here lies, in hopes of a blessed
resurrection, a man, truly good and pious, Mr. Samuel Tulloch,
lately most vigilant pastor at Spynie, who died most pleas-
antly in Christ, upon the llth day of November, about 12
hours mid-day, in the year 1706; of his age 74, and of his
office, happily administered, 46. As also the pious and chaste
Elizabeth Gordon, his only and most beloved wife, with their
three daughters, virgins, Agnes, Marjory, and Jean.
For all whose pious sake and memory, Alexander Tulloch,
only son to the said Mr. Samuel and Elizabeth, caused this
EPITAPHS IN THE CHURCHYARD OF SPYNIE. 141
monument, built before by himself, but afterward to be
adorned with this memorial inscription, and this inclosure
around the same to be erected.
XI. In spe beatae resurrectionis, hie deposuit Reverendus vir,
Presbyter pius, probus Magister Robertus Tulloh, qui ut pie
vixit, decessit 13 Novembris anno 1720, ut et Anna Tulloh, uxor
ejus charissima, quse animam deo reddidit 20 Julii, 1715, et
eorum filii Alexr. Tulloh, qui obiit Januarii 18, ann. 1731, et
Thomas, qui obiit 24 Janii, anno 1715.
Sand Glass. Cross Bones. Death's Head.
XII. Here lyes Thomas Laing, mason in Quarriewood, . . .
in 1712, and Elspet Innes, his spouse, and their children.
T. L. E. L.
XIII. Here lyes the body an honest man, called . . . ard
Baird, some . . . June, 1717, and . . . Laing, his spouse. . .
XIV. Here lyes the body of John M'Ombie, sometime far-
mer in Under . . . May, 1722, ... his spouse . . . Gum-
ming, ....
XV. Here lies the body of John Jamieson, somtime in . .
and his spouse, Isabell Cock, who died the . . . of . . . 1725.
J. J. L C.
XVI. Here lyes the body of Thomas Laing, who died De-
cember the 13, 1732, lawful son to Alex. Laing, sometime
dwellar in Bormuchatie.
XVII. Here lyes the body of John . . . son to William
Jamieson, in Quarrelwood, who died the 3rd of December,
1732, being the 13 year of his age.
XVIII. This is the burial-place of John Kintrea in Kintrea,
who died the * ... and his spouse, Isabel Laing, who died
the 1st of April, 1735, and their children, Christian, Jean, and
Agnes, and Barbara, and Margaret, and Elspet.
XIX. Here lyes the body of Lenard Laing, who died March
the 27, 17 2, . . . Janet, Margaret, Isobel Laings, children to
James Laing and Jannet Russell, in Mirside (1), with mortality
1738. James Laing, who died 1798, aged 37 years.
XX. This stone is placed here by Andrew Coban, mason
in Rosehaugh, in memory of his deceast father, John Coban,
late farmer in Dykeside, who died March llth, 1740, aged 63
years.
* Never inserted.
142 EPITAPHS OF REV. MESSRS. BROWN AND MACHARDY.
XXI. This is burial-place of John . . . sometime farmer in
Spynie, who died 1742, and Barbara Shaw, his spouse, who
died 1754, and John and Jannet, ther children, who died in
nonage. James, their son, sometime farmer in Spynie, who
died 1769, and Barbara, their daughter, placed this stone.
XXII David Bege and Agnes Ritchie, 1746.
John Ritchie. Isobel Bath.
XXIII. This stone is placed in memory of James Paul,
sometime farmer in Burnsford, and Janet Forsyth, his spouse,
who died the 6th of March, 1750, aged 23 years.
XXIV. This stone is placed in memorie of William Gregor,
sometime farmer in Rosehaugh, who died 5 ... 1764, and
his spouse, Marjorie. . . .
XXV. This stone is placed here by Beatrix Johnson in
memory of John Harper, hir husband, sometime farier in
Blackadit, who died the 12 March, 1799, aged 24 years.
XXVI. Sacred to the memory of the Rev. Alexander Brown,
late minister of Spynie, who died on the 8th January, 1814, in
the 53rd year of his age and 21st of his ministry. Also of
Isabella Ord, his spouse, who died on the llth of August, 1834,
aged 70 years ; and of Williamina, their infant daughter, who
died on the 4th Deer., 1807, in the 3rd year of her age.
XXVII. To the memory of the Rev. George Machardy,
minister of the gospel at New Spynie, who died 15th Septr.,
1717, aged 42. This stone is erected by his affectionate widow,
Margaret Smith.
XXVIII. Sacred to the memory of William Turnbull, Esq.,
late surgeon in the H.E.I. Company's service, who died at
Aldroughty the 8th of April, 1864, aged 71.
The above tomb has upon it the following mottoes : — On the
south side — " Death Pursueth ; " on the west side — " Time
Fleeth ; " on the north side — " Conquer Eternity ; " and on the
east side — " Mynd Mortality," with the usual emblems, viz.: —
Skeleton, Bell, Coffin, Sand Glass, Knife in Hand, Crown,
Skull, and Cross Bones.
XXIX. On a tomb, with a handsome railing, about
the centre of the churchyard, are the following inscrip-
tions : —
(On a flat stone on the floor of the tomb) — 1. Hie requiescunt
reliquse piae castseque Katharinaa King, uxoris Mri. Gulielrni
PRESBYTERIAN MINISTERS* EPITAPHS AT SPYNIE. 143
Dougall, ecclesife Spyniensis Novse pastoris, quse obiit, 26
Septembris, anno Domini MDCCLIV., setatis suae LXV. Atque
eorum filia Elizabetha, quae obiit Martie xin., MDCCXXVI.,
retatis suse mense xvi. Ipse autem obiit Octobris die xn.,
MDCCLXVI., setatis suae anno LXXXIII.
XXX. On five monumental tablets, on the wall — :
Hen ! quanto minus est eum reliquis
Versari, quam.vestrum meminisse.
Within this tomb lie interred the remains of the late Rever-
end Mr. Eobert Paterson, who was twenty-two years Minister
of this parish, and died upon the 31st July, 1790, in the 56th
year of his age. He was eminent for the faithful discharge of
his pastoral office, and as a husband and father he was nearly
as perfect as human nature will admit.
Here also lie the remains of Alexander Paterson, his third
son, who survived his father only nine months, having died
upon the 13th April, 1791, in the 17th year of his age, after
having finished his academical studies. He was snatched
from this transitory life to the inexpressible grief of all
his relations.
XXXI. Here lie interred the body of Margaret Collie,
spouse of Mr. Robert Paterson, Minister of New Spynie, and
only child of Mr. William Collie, late Minister of Drainie, and
Margaret Mackenzie, his spouse. She was a dutiful wife, an
affectionate mother, an exemplary Christian. Her soul has
been early removed from this earth to bear only felicity, and
her body rests in hope of the promised resurrection. This
monument is erected to her memory. She died July 23, 1782,
in the 34th year of her age.
XXXII. Consecrated by the Revd. James Paterson, Minister
of Birnie, to the memory of his brothers — Mr. William Pater-
son, who died 5th April, 1829, aged 59; and Doctor Robert
Paterson, H.E.I.C.S., who, after twenty years' service in India,
and when on the eve of returning to his native country, died at
Calcutta on the of December, 1829, in the 48th year of
his age. Also sacred to the memory of the Revd. James
Paterson, Minister of Birnie, whose benevolent life adorned
the doctrines which he taught. Born 13th April, 1778 ; died
23rd February, 1840.
XXXIII. In this tomb lie interred the remains of the Revd.
John Paterson, who was Minister of the Gospel at Auldearn,
from 1794 till 1813, when he died in the 41st year of his age,
an accomplished scholar and an eloquent preacher. His char-
14-4 EPITAPHS IN THE CHURCHYARD OF SPYNIE.
acter was adorned by integrity, candour, and benevolence, still
more, than by those attainments.
Here also, in the grave of her parents, lies his sister,
Helen, spouse of the Revd. Thomas Macfarlane of Edinkillie,
who was endeared to her friends by every amiable virtue. She
died on the 7th April, 1810, in the 34th year of her age.
This stone is placed by their brother, Dr. Robert Paterson,
of the Bengal Medical Service, as a memorial of their virtues
and of his affection.
XXXIV. The Rev. James Paterson, late Minister of
Birnie, removed this stone from Drainie in 1839, for pre-
servation, the old Church being ruinous : —
In this church lie interred Mr. Hugh Anderson, long Minis-
ter of this place, and Margaret Munro, his spouse ; as also Mr.
William Collie, his immediate successor, and 27 years Minister,
who died April 29, 1768, in the 73rd year of his age ; and
Margaret Mackenzie, his spouse, who died April 27, 1773. Of
these valuable persons, it may truly be said that they acted in
their several stations as faithful ministers of the gospel, good
members of society, and upright Christians.
This monument is erected to their memory by Margaret
Collie, only child of the two last named, and spouse of Mr.
Robert Paterson, minister of New Spynie.
XXXV. On a neat upright stone, near the centre of the
churchyard, is inscribed : —
In memory of John M'Kimmie, Esquire, late Provost of
Elgin ; born 4th October, 1789, died 26th February, 1856.
XXXVI. Near^the above is a flat stone inscribed : —
This stone is placed here by Archibald Mellis, farmer in
Kintrae, in memory of his spouse, Ann Falconer, who died 7th
December, 1797, aged 44 years. In memory also of Jane
Mellis, his eldest daughter, who died 8th August, 1791, aged
17 years; also of Alexander and Janet Mellis, his children,
who died in their nonage.
NOTE. — The above stone, I suppose, refers to the mother,
brother, and two sisters of the late Mr. James Mellis, long
tenant of the farm of Spynie. (R. Y.)
XXXVII. In a tomb, towards the east end of the
Church^ is a tablet to the memory of the late Reverend
Alexander Simpson, Minister of the parish, and his wife,
as follows : —
LANDS IN THE PARISH OF ALVES. 145
Sacred to the memory of Elizabeth Patullo, spouse of the
Revd. Alexander Simpson, Minister of New Spynie, who died
on the 10th April, 1848, aged Gl years. Also in memory of
the Revd. Alexander Simpson, who departed this life on the
7th January, 1852, aged 65 years, in the 26th year of his
ministry, having been ordained Minister of New Spynie, in
the year 1826.
THE PAKISH OF ALVES
Lieth to the west of Spynie, extending 3 miles
from north to south, and as much from east
to west.
The Church standeth near the centre, 4 miles
west of Elgin, above 2 miles west of Spynie, and
above 2 miles east of Kinloss. .The south part
of the parish stretcheth along the hill that divideth
it from the glen of Pluscarden. Here the lands
of Cleves, Monachtie, and Aslisk have been, for
above 100 years past, a part of the estate of
Brodie, formerly belonging (as they were church-
lands) to the Earls of Moray, since the reforma-
tion of religion.
In the middle of the parish, to the east, are
Newton and Ardgaoidh, once a part of the estate
of Duffus, now the property, the first of the Earl
Fife, and the other of the Duke of Gordon.
Next westward is Alves, pertaining to the Earl
of Moray, and a part of that ancient estate.
Those parts of this parish that now belong to the
Earl of Moray, have so long been the property of
that noble family, in all the revolutions of it, that,
I am told, about 40 years ago, a tenant gave to
Mr. Eussel late factor, a discharge of rent granted
VOL. II. 10
146 PROPERTIES IN THE PARISH OF ALVES.
by Thomas Kandolf, Earl of Moray, to that ten-
ant's ancestor in that land. A remarkable evi-
dence this of the benevolence and goodness of
that family, in continuing the farmers in their
tenements from one generation to another for
above 400 years.
Close by the Church is Kirktown, the seat of
Harry Spens, D.D., and of his family for several
generations. West from which is Ernside, which
had been successively the heritage of the Cum-
mines and MacKenzies for some centuries, and
now is the property of Mr. Spens of Kirktown.
In the north part of the parish, near the coast, is
Coltfield, formerly pertaining to William Brodie,
grandson of the family of Brodie, upon whose
death without issue, the lands reverted to that
family, and now they are the property of James
Brodie of Brodie, and of Watson of Westerton.
Westward is Hemprigs, which, with the lands of
Kilbuyack in the middle of the parish, was the
heritage, for several generations, of a branch of
the Dunbars. Kilbuyack was sold to Brodie of
Lethen ; and Sir William Dunbar of Hemprigs
dying without male issue, and his daughter and
heiress marrying a son of Sir James Sutherland's,
the honour of Baronet, obtained on the 10th of
April, 1700, came to his brother Sir Eobert,
father of Sir Patrick of Bowermaden, who died
without male issue, and the lands of Hemprigs
were purchased by William Dawson, Provost of
ORIGINAL IDEA AS TO THE ERECTION OF ALVES. 147
Forres, and with his two daughters co-heiresses
came to Alexander Tulloch of Tauachie, and
Alexander Brodie of Windyhills. Windyhills, in
the west end of the parish, was long the heritage
of the Dunbars. From them they were purchased
by Francis Brodie (son]of John, a natural son of
David of Brodie), whose grandson John, who died
a captain at Carthagena in 1741, having no issue,
disponed his lands to Major George Brodie, son
to Milntown ; by whose death, inj!748, they came
to his brother Alexander Brodie of Windyhills,
the fourth in descent from David Laird of Brodie,
who is now Baron of Windyhills and Hemprigs.
ALVES.
[Situation, Soil, Climate. — The parish of Alves, skirting
along the western sides of Duffus and Spynie, compre-
hends the whole breadth of the champaign of Moray,
from the firth to the bottom of the mountain, which in this
quarter, ranging along the north side of the vale of Plus-
carden, divides it from that limb of the parish of Elgin.
It is one peculiarity of this parish, that although it has
no stream naturally sufficient to turn a common corn-mill,
yet the tracts of a great river remain manifestly evident,
almost over all its length. It may be deemed perhaps a
baseless speculation to presume, that the valleys which
the rivers now occupy were not miraculously formed at
the creation, for the reception of their waters, but have
been gradually hollowed out by the natural action of
their respective streams. It requires an exertion of the
imagination to conceive the whole country without valleys,
uniformly elevated to the level of the lower hills, and,
instead of the great rivers, numberless small streams only,
meeting into one almost by accidental congress, in the
trackless waste of unconsolidated, bare, oozy mud, when
God said at the first, " Let the waters under the heaven
148 THE DALES OF ALVES ; CASTLE OF ERNSIDE.
be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land
appear."
Although this might be in general presumed to have
been the case, its application in any one particular instance
may still be difficult. It requires no common exertion
of the mind, even in idea, to represent this country before
the excavation of the Moray Firth, when 'the highest lands
of Birnie were continuously conjoined with the Sutherland
hills, and no sea intervened between Duncan's bay and
Peterhead; but that the river Varrar, receiving the waters
which now constitute the Ness, Nairn, and Findhorn, in
its course, meeting with the Spey also from the south, and
the Conan from the north, boiling in rapid eddies around
the Knock of Alves, rolled in one vast volume along the
side of the hills of Enzie and Cullen, and discharged an
immense cataract of extremely turbid water far eastward
in the German ocean. But having conceived this idea,
it will not be difficult to suppose, that the river of Find-
horn, at a period much less remote, might have winded
among the dales of Alves, through the lake of Spynie into
the sea. Besides the evident vestiges of its tract which
remain, its memory is still distinctly preserved in the
name of the old Castle of Ernside, which in those
days decorated its banks; it being well known, that
the Erne is the proper appellation of the river; while
the farm upon the lake of Inchstellie preserves also,
by its name, the memory of its once peninsular situa-
tion : and it could never have been embosomed by any
other river.
The parish is nearly a square of 5 miles, presenting a
surface considerably diversified by sloping, and by level
plains and gently-swelling eminences. It is far from
being so uniformly plain as that of Drainy or Duffus,
although a great proportion of its surface is counted level
land. The soil is distinguished for its fertility, being a
deep fat loam incumbent on clay, in a very few places
only of a lighter quality : it produces crops of oats, valued
in particular for their slow and late ripening, being found,
upon the warmer sandy soils of the neighbouring parishes,
to increase the luxuriance of the stem and the weight of
the grain.
State of Property.- — George Forteath, Esq., has built a
spacious and splendid house upon his property of New-
STATE OF PROPERTY IX ALVES. 149
town, where he has also formed an elegant garden, and
made a considerable extent of plantation. The valued
rent around this family seat extends to £165 10s. Scots.
Peter Rose Watson, of Westerton, Esq., prefers the warm
•castled accommodations of his ancestors at Coltfield, to the
airy painted halls of modern fashion. The valued rent
of his domains in this parish extends to £768 17s, 2d.
Scots. William Brodie, of Miltown, Esq., has his family-
seat under the north side of a green serrated mount ; its
exterior appearance, though not modern, indicating neat
internal accommodation. His valued rent of Hempriggs
and Windyhills amounts to £818 15s. 4d.
The lands of Ardgay, Monaughty, and Asleesk, apper-
taining to the Earl of Fife, are valued at £1575 15s. 2d.
Alves and Inchstellie, the property of the Earl of Moray,
are valued at £1336 2s. lOd. Kirktown Alves, and Erne-
side, the property of Spence Monro, Esq., are valued at
£426 9s. 8d. The lands of Kilbuyack, at -£380 7s., belongs
to Miss Brodie of Lethin : making the valuation of i^he
parish equal to £5462 17s. 2d. Scots. The real rent of
the parish may be estimated about £3000 sterling. The
farms in general are of respectable extent, there being few
under 30, and several above 100 acres. The mean rent
of the land is about £1 5s. the acre.
State Ecclesiastical. — The stipend is £46 13s. 4d. ster-
ling, 96 bolls of bear, and 16 of meal; the allowance for
the communion being included. The right of patronage
appertains to the Earl of Moray. The school-salary is 10
bolls of bear, and £2 15s. 6d. sterling; and by the Act of
Parliament which confers the emoluments of the office of
session-clerk upon the parochial schoolmaster, he has the
fee of £1 12s. and the customary perquisites, with the
usual fees for teaching.
In the year 1715 George Duncan, Esq., merchant in
Inverness, bequeathed £166 12s. 6d. sterling, for the
education of 6 boys, from the sixth to the tenth year of
their age, who are to be presented by the session. ' The
poor, who are not numerous, are comfortably supported
by the charity of the congregation, in the conclusion of
their public worship, the dues for the use of the pall, and
some charitable donations, among which is the sum of £30
sterling, bequeathed by Mr. Watt, who had transferred
his ministrations from this parish to Forres. The mem-
150 THE KNOCK OF ALVES ; THE CASTLE OF ASLEISK.
bers of the National Church are 1030, about 50 Seceders,
and 30 Episcopalians.
Miscellaneous Information. — The people are indus-
trious, sober, and regular in their attendance on the
public institutions of religion, and more than equal to-
their neighbours in knowledge and information.
The conical hill of the Knock of Alves terminates a
low ridge on the southern quarter of the parish. It is
separated from the ridge that ranges through the parish
of Spynie only by a narrow gap. In both are inexhaust-
ible quarries of free-stone, equally fit for mill-stones and
for building.
In the western end of the parish, there is a large circular
pile of stone : it has never been examined : no name or
circumstance concerning it is known. Some Danish axes
of uncommon form have been found in a tract of peat
morass in the vicinity of Erneside.] (Survey of the Pro-
vince of Moray.}
[The only relic of feudal times is the Castle of Asleisl\
on the Earl of Fife's property.] (ED.)
EPITAPHS IN THE CHURCHYARD OF ALVES.
[By the great charter of Bishop Brice, whereby he
established the use of Lincoln in the diocese, Alves,
along with Llanbryde, are granted and erected into a pre-
bendary to be the seat of the Precentor. This was about
1208. Disputes arose between the Precentor and Succentor
in regard to the boundaries of the parish, which was
determined by a mutual reference in 1328. The name of
the Precentor at this time was Roger de Invernis.
In 15G7 James Spence, vicar of Alves, witnesses a feu
charter by James Thorntoun, the last Precentor of Moray
of the glebe of the parish.
In 1565 John Watsone, minister of Alves, along with
John Robison, minister of Urquhart, are threatened with
the censure of the Church for leaving their Churches, and
in 1567 we have Patrick Balfour, minister. The old
Church, long demolished, contained monuments of anti-
quity, though some are now lost ; fragments of two, which
seemed to have formed part of the floor, yet remain.
I. ... Vir. Valterus. troup. portion. . . alter illos conjugis
. . . 25th Die Decembris anno Domini 1598. .
EPITAPHS IN THE CHURCHYARD OF ALVES. 151
II. Here lyes ane honorable man John Dassol. . . .
III. Under this stone lye the bodies of James Eussel, farmer,
sometime in Mortown, who died the 6th of May, 1691, and also
James Russel, fanner, sometime in Mortown, his cousin, who
died October, 1731, and Jean Kellie, his spouss, who died March,
1733, and James Russel, their son, farmer sometime in Easter
Alves, who died May 10, 1742, and Jean Anderson, his spouse,
who died August, 1717.
IV. Here on part of the wall of the old Church is the tomb-
stone of Beivald Innes, who was ejected after the Revolution.
He was minister from 1677, and died 1722.
It is in Latin, on a curious sort of red stone. From its
difficulty to decipher, I have not set it down here.
V. ... John. Laing. sometime . . . who. died. January.
13. 1720. . . . Laing. who. died. . . . the. 6. 1730. and. his.
spouse. Margaret. Petrie. died. October. 14. 17 . . .
VI. Here lyes the body of John Anderson, sometime in-
dueller in East Grange, who died the 23 of December, 1723,
and Isobel Gumming, his spouse, who died the 10 of December,
1727, and Margaret Thane, spouse to John Anderson, in East
Grange, she died the 9 of December, 1734. John Anderson,
their son, placed this stone in memory of his parents and his
beloved spouse.
VII. Here lyes the body of James Williamson, sometime
farmer in Mostown, who died Nov., 1731, and his spouse,
Elspet Lyn, who died July, 1731, and their daughter, Isobel,
who died in her nonage.
VIII. Here is laid till the coming of Christ the bodies of
Wm. and Allex. Forsyth, sometime induellers in Mount
Auchry, and George Key, who lived in Coltfield, and died
17 Feb., 1742, and his spouse, Barbara Mill, who died 12th
November, 1752. Interred here is the body of John Key, and
his wife, Margy. Forsyth, sometime duellers in Coltfield, and
their son, William Key, farmer in Duifus, who died* . . . and
his wife, Emily Sutherland, who died Mar. 1808.
IX. Here ly the bodys of Alex. Funister, late farmer in the
Ries, who died 26 of July, 1767, and his spouse, Ann Russ,
who died 16 July, 1745, and their son, William Funister, died
22 July, 1779.
X. This stone is placed here in the burying-place of Wm.
Leim, farmer in Coltfield, by Janet Chrystal, in memory of
* Never inserted.
152 EPITAPHS IN ALVES; THE PARISH OF KINLOSS.
John Chrystal, her brother, who died October 16, 1759, aged
22 years.
XL Mrs. Isa M'Lair, wife to the Rev. Mr. William Smith, min-
ister at Alves, lies buried here. Here lies interred the body of
the Rev. Mr. William Smith, late minister of Alves, who died
26th Jany., 1792, aged 46 years.
XII. This stone is erected by Pitir Ross, mason at Burghead,
in memory of his parents, Hugh Ross, who lived in Alves, who
died April the 6, 1780, aged 69 years, and his spouse, Jean
Davidson, who died* . . .
XIII. Hear lys the body of Thomas Cobban, sometime resi-
denter in Monauchry, who died the 18 May, 1786, aged 98
years, and his spouse, Margt. Young, who died 7 Nov., 1801,
aged 76 years.] (Rev. J. B. Craven's Epitaphs.)
THE PAEISH OF KINLOSS.
That is, the head of the Loch or Bay, from the
burgh of Findhorn, runneth within land a mile and
a half, and near a mile in breadth. Here the river
Erne emptieth into the firth. It riseth in the hills,
betwixt Badenoch and Stratherick, and watering
Strathern and the Streins from south west to
north east, at Doulasie, in the parish of Ardclach
(a bridge of two arches was built in the year
1754), thence it runneth north, and after a course
of more than 30 miles, enters into the bay of
Kinloss. The parish of Kinloss lieth on the east
side of the bay.
The Church standeth near the head of the bay,
about 2-J miles west from Alves, 1^ miles north
of Forres, and near 3 miles north of Kafford. At
the mouth of the bay is Findhorn, or Inverern, a
* Never inserted.
THE BARONY OF MUIRTOWN AND OWNERS, KINLOSS. 153
burgh of barony. The bar at the mouth of the
river allows no ships of burden to enter the bay,
yet a good trade is carried on by small merchant
ships and fishing boats. It is the sea-port of the
town of Forres ; and about 60 years ago, the sea
cut off from the land, and covered the town, now
called Old Findhorn. The present town, with
the barony of Muirtown, lying south on the bay,
was the property of Hugh Eose of Kilravock,
who, in 1766, sold the barony of Muirton to
Colonel Hector Munro of Navarre. In 1656 it
came to Sir Eobert Innes of Innes, who disponed
it to Sir James Calder. Sir James was created
a baronet of Nova Scotia, by Patent dated the
5th of November, 1686, and was son of Sir
Thomas Calder of Sheriffmiln, of the Calders of
Assuanly. About the year 1710, Sir James dis-
poned his estate, with the burden of the debts, to
Hugh Eose of Kilravock, James Sutherland of
Kinsterie, William Brodie of Coltfield, and Alex-
ander Dunbar of Moy, and they disponed with
absolute warrandice to Kilravock. The value of
the estate fell short of the debts, and the dis-
ponees bore the burden. Kinloss gave title
to Edward Bruce (of the family of Clackmannan),
•created Lord Kinloss 8th July, 1604, and his son
Thomas, Earl of Elgin, 19th June, 1633. From
this last, Alexander Brodie, the first of Lethen,
purchased the Abbey lands in Kinloss, and the
superiorities of such lands elsewhere, and they
154 STATE OF PROPERTY IN THE PARISH OF KINLOSS.
are now the property of the eldest daughter of
the late Alexander.
The south end of the parish was Abbey land,
now the property of Dunbar of Grange, except
the Struthers sold to Colonel William Grant of
Ballendallach, about 1730. On the bay of Kin-
loss, Lethen has a salmon fishing.
KINLOSS.
[Situation, Soil, Climate. — The parish of Kinloss lies on
the western side of Alves, and may be regarded as occu-
pying the whole breadth of the champaign ; although a
corner of Alves is protruded for a little way along the
bottom of the mountain, and in this quarter the mountain
side itself, almost wholly cultivated, appertains to the
parish of Rafford. Being only formed into a separate
parish in the year 1657, the name of the Abbey, situated
at the head of the bay of Findern, became readily that of
the parish. It is a flat country, almost a square of 4
miles. In some places the soil is light sand ; in others,
rich deep clay and fertile loam ; an incoherent peat earth
is the surface soil of many hollow lying fields : but the
whole, when properly cultivated, produces luxuriant crops
of every kind of grain. Most of the springs have some
mineral taste, and the water is, in general, bad. The air
is sharp and dry : supposed to generate rheumatism and
cutaneous distempers among the people, who are obliged
to support its most unfavourable influences.
State of Property. — The parish appertains to four pro-
prietors. General Sir Hector Munro of Novar has the
barony of Muirtown, valued in the county Cess-Book
at £1859 14s. 8d. Scots. Miss Brodie of Lethin has Kin-
loss and East Grange, at £1091 Is. 4d. General James
Grant of Balnadalloch has Struthers, Newtown, and
Winderlaw, at £475 5s. 4d. : and the remainder of the
parish is the property of Lewis Dunbar, Esq., of Grange,
at £297 17s. 7d., making the whole valued rent equal
to £3723 18s. lid. Scots. The greater farms vary from
about 100 to 130 acres, while some of the least are
SEA. TRADE OF THE VILLAGE OF FINDHORN. 155
only from 5 to C. The average rent by the acre is from
18s. to £1 4s., though there are some which lat at £2 2s.,
and a small part has risen to the rate even of £3 the acre.
The whole number of the farms amount to 40.
The village of Findhorn, on the estate of Muirtown, at
the influx of the river Findern, properly the Erne, into
the Firth, may be considered as the Port of the town of
Forres, and partly of Elgin also.
Four vessels, from 90 to 130 tons burthen, are employed
in the London trade to this Port, and to those of Cromarty
and Inverness conjoined ; one after another generally ar-
riving between every third and fifth week, and completing
five or six voyages in the year. An inconsiderable quan-
tity of dyed threads, manufactured in the village ; a
proportion of the grain of the country ; and the salmon
of the rivers of Nairn and Findern, with a small quantity
from the upper fisheries of the Spey, comprise the goods
sent to London. The salmon is sent in vessels appropri-
ated for that article, put on board in the offing, and reach
market commonly between the 5th and 9th day. From
2500 to 4000 kits, bringing from 16s. to £1 10s. the kit in
London, comprehend the yearly quantity.
The articles brought back from London are sugar, tea,
hops, porter, and cheese, silk, woollen, and cotton cloths,
hats, ribbons, and buttons, hardware, household furniture,
tanned leather, and grass seeds.
Three vessels, from 70 to 90 tons burthen, are employed
in the trade from Leith, and the other ports in the Firth
of Forth, to the same places, completing their voyages
nearly in the same time. The only article carried out is
grain, generally about 3000 bolls in the year, in cargoes
of 300 or 400 bolls : in some years, 7000 or 8000 have
been shipped : but the failure of the crop 1781, from an
excessive drought, and a shake by a storm of wind, re-
quired an importation of 2000 bolls ; while the crop of
1782 required a supply of no less than 8000 bolls from
foreign Ports.
The goods brought from Leith yearly consist of a con-
siderable quantity of tanned leather, soap, tallow, and
grass seeds, foreign bar iron, and manufactured iron from
Carron, farm utensils, and furniture, bottles, window and
crystal glass, English and Scots stoneware, English hard-
ware, and the manufactures of the looms of England,
156 IMPORTS AT THE VILLAGE OF FINDHORN.
Glasgow, and Paisley. Wines, imported by the mer-
chants of Forres and Inverness from the places of their
growth to Leith, make a part of the freights of these
vessels, there being now seldom any wine imported
directly here. Small quantities of spruce or black beer
made at Dantzick are also forwarded from Leith. The
ships employed in freighting the corn bring in yearly
about 100 tons of Scots coal, and about 6 times as much
from Sunderland, avoiding Newcastle on account of the
duty paid to the Duke of Richmond on coals shipped
there. With the coal, there is occasionally a small quan-
tity of lime brought for manure, and about 130 tons of
salt from the different saltworks of the Firth. Many pas-
sengers sail in these vessels both to and from London
and Leith.
Two vessels are generally employed in bringing flax,
tow, foreign bar iron, hard and soft soap, ropes and dressed
hemp from Aberdeen. The flax is dressed, and only sent
down by the manufacturers of that city to be spun, about
Elgin, Forres, and Nairn, which it is supposed will amount
to more than £2000 sterling yearly, for spinning the yarn
returned from this Port. These vessels generally complete
their voyage in the course of every six weeks, and occa-
sionally carry back small quantities of flour and a few
other articles.
Small quantities of yarn, manufactured from home-
grown flax, are sent also by Leith for the Glasgow
looms; and small quantities of butter by private orders
for particular families. The pier is commodious, but
rather too limited ; yet the harbour is capacious and safe :
there was always sufficient depth of water on the bar, and
scarcely any vessel was ever damaged in getting over it.
Of late, the channel has been altered even for the better,
and vessels of almost 300 tons can easily get to the pier
at stream tides. The Act of Parliament for building it
was obtained by Sir Hector Munro in 1778. The duties
of anchorage which it allows are, for every vessel under 6
tons, 3d. — between 6 and 15 tons, 6d. — from 15 to 30 tons,
Is. — from 30 to 50 tons, 2s. — from 50 to 75 tons, 3s. —
from 75 to 100 tons, 4s.— from 100 to 150 tons, 5s. — from
150 to 200 tons, Cs.— from 200 to 300 tons, 7s.— and
for 300 tons, and all above that, 8s. The duties on goods
shipped and landed vary with the different commodities.
INVERNESS CITADEL BUILT OF THE ABBEY STONES. 157
For the boll of grain, salt, barrel of English coal, 100
whole-barrel, or 150 half-barrel hoops, |d. — for each barrel
of goods imported in barrels, for each gross of quart
bottles, and for each parcel, Id. — for the 100 bolls of
lime, Is. 6d. — for the 1000 slates or tiles, 6d. — for each 40
feet of timber in logs, 4d. — and for all coarse goods not
particularly rated, in the proportion of £2 for each £100
of their value.
The fees exacted by the Custom-house are equal to
three times these in the Port of Leith on foreign cargoes
On goods carried coast-ways, 2s. are demanded from every
merchant for the value of from £20 to £30 sterling — Is. 6d.
to the comptroller and collector, and 6d. to the port officer —
deemed so exorbitant, that the payment has of late been
refused, and, by steady unanimity among the merchants,
redress no doubt will be obtained.
About 30 years ago, there were seven or eight fishing boats
belonging to Findhorn, constantly employed. There are at
present but 4 : a fifth is occasionally rigged out in winter.
There are some fine beds of mussels in this harbour : 100
boats, from 3 to 7 tons, have been in some years freighted
for bait to the fish-towns southward on the Firth, as far
as Fraserburgh, besides the home consumpt, both for the
fishers and the market. Oysters also, about 20 years
ago, were planted by Sir Hector Monro ; but the scalp
having never been dragged, their fate is wholly unknown.
Of late some cargoes of fir timber and deals have been
shipped for the eastern quarter of the Firth ; and as the
plantations in the country advance, this branch of traffic
will probably be enlarged.
State Ecclesiastical. — While the Abbey of Kinloss sub-
sisted, this parish appertained to that of Alves and
Rafford. In the year 1652, William Campbell, minister
of Alves, commissioner from the Presbytery of Elgin to
the brethren of Forres, represented, that " the chapter-
house of the Abbey of Kinloss hath been, since the
Reformation, a place for preaching the word, celebrating
the sacraments and marriage ; and by a condescendence
between Alexander Brodie of Lethin, and the English
garrison at Inverness, the fabric of the abbey is taken
down for building their citadel, save the place of worship;
and those who have the charge for to transport the stone,
have it in command to take that also down : therefore the
158 GEORGE'S YARD PART OF KINLOSS ABBEY.
brethren at Elgin earnestly desire, that the presbytery lay
to heart, what the sequel will be, seeing, by the unani-
mous consent of the whole heritors of the adjacent lands,
and of all the members of the Presbyteries of Elgin and
Forres, it is agreed that there shall be a church and par-
ticular parish erected for Kinloss and the people there-
about, who are now almost without the means of the
gospel."
On the consequent application of the Presbytery, Mr.
Brodie declared, " it was against his will that these stones
were taken away." An agreement was however made,
that Sir John M'Kenzie of Tarbet, the proprietor of Muir-
town, should give up his claim on " George's Yard," a part
of the precinct of the Abbey ; and that the Presbytery,
who claimed the whole precinct, should renounce all pre-
tence to any part thereof, as lawfully redeemed by Lethin,
who, having acquired the Abbey lands from Lord Kinloss,
engaged on his part to give a sufficient glebe, and station
for a manse, off his lands of Kinloss, and also to build the
manse and church by the money he had received for the
stone of the Abbey. At a subsequent meeting of the
Presbytery, the whole proprietors agreed on their par-
ticular proportions of a stipend of £22 5s. and 3 chalders
of bear, and the expense of the Communion, from the
tithes of their respective lands within the new parish.
The proprietors also of the lands remaining in the parish
of Alves, agreed to make up the proportion of £5 sterling,
and 10 bolls, formerly paid to the minister of Alves, from
the lands taken off that parish; of which Sir Robert Innes >
younger of Innes, who in the interval had acquired the
barony of Muirtown, " out of his free donation and gift,
endows £2 10s. by the year, for the payment whereof he
doth oblige himself and his heirs, to employ £41 13s. 4d.
in the hands of responsal debtors, by the advice of the
Presbytery of Elgin, and the minister of Alves; and to
pay £2 10s. yearly, so long as it remains in his own or
foresaid's hands." The other £2 10s. and the 10 bolls,
were apportioned on the lands within the parish of Alves.
The minister of Raffbrd was compensated by the annexa-
tion of the parish of Altyr, which had been incommodi-
ously united to Delias, the stipend of which was supplied,
by conjoining the lands of Killess from the parish of Elgin.
It was not, however, till the year 1659, that the settle-
SETTLEMENT OF THE FIRST MINISTER AT KINLOSS. 159
ment of James Urquhart, the first minister of Kinloss,
took place ; who in a few months thereafter attended a
meeting of the Scots Parliament at Edinburgh, with Sir
Robert Innes, and Mr. Fullerton, the minister of Rafford,
and obtained the National ratification of this whole pro-
cedure by the Act March 20, 1661, "which ratifies and
confirms the Act and ordinance of the Presbyteries of
Elgin and Forres, with consent of all concerned, of date
the 6th of May, 1657;" but appointing the stipend of
Kinloss to be £20 sterling, and 4 chalders of bear, includ-
ing the expense of the Communion. Upon the death of
the usurper in the succeeding year, and the restoration of
Charles II., the Presbyterian Church of Scotland was
completely overturned and abrogated, and the Prelatic
constitution arbitrarily and violently re-imposed. But
that there hath been an ecclesiastical establishment in
every civilized state, Gentile, Jew, or Christian, the his-
torical records of all ages show ; and it may be from the
Scriptures inferred, that this is by the Deity required of
all who have been favoured by the light of Revelation.
Although it may not be obvious, that the Presbyterian
establishment is particularly by the Scriptures enjoined,
yet the experience of more than 100 years hath fully con-
curred to show, that it is by much the best for a people
who in general are far from opulent. Instruction in the
duties of morality and religion is not lost amidst the
pomp and splendour of external worship : and while the
clergy are not raised above the requisite intercourse with
the lowest of the people by power and dignity, and tem-
poral wealth, their learning, manners, and rank in society
associating them with the superior orders of the State,
form the link by which the highest are connected with
the lowest, affording thereby the mutual communication
of those advantages for which each of those classes is
dependent on the other. Accordingly, there is no state
where the common people are of more decent manners,
better informed, and more attentive to the duties of
morality and the ordinances of religion.
These advantages, however, are the purchase of much
of the blood, and of almost the whole of the treasure, of
our ancestors, and were only secured by many hard con-
tentions with most crafty and desperate efforts of uncon-
stitutional power, continued by the most unrelenting
160 STATE ECCLESIASTICAL OF KINLOSS PARISH.
persecution of every rank and of every sex for almost
half a century. At the conclusion of such a distressful
season, the State ecclesiastical could not at once assume
that comely order to which it has now attained ; and for
the first 12 years of the present Presbyterian establish-
ment, the number was so few of faithful ministers, that,
except parochial sessions, the Presbytery of Moray was
the only ecclesiastical jurisdiction in the Province. In a
meeting of which at Forres in June 1702, they were then
first able to make up three Presbyteries, one comprehend-
ing those of Inverness, Nairn, and Forres ; another Elgin,
Aberlaur, and Abernethie ; and that of Strathbogie nearly
as it has since remained, and in consequence of this the
Synod for the first time met in the month of October
thereafter.
In 1708 the Presbytery of Forres, which is now to be
considered, was first established, which until the year
1733 comprehended also the parishes of Auldern, Nairn,
and Ardclach.
The stipend of Kinloss, by decreet 1789, is £46 8s. 3d.
— 56 bolls of bear, and 40 bolls of oatmeal. The right of
patronage is shared between the Earl of Moray and Miss
Brodie of Lethin. The salary of the School is £2 16s. 4d.,
and 7 bolls and 3 pecks of bear, and £2 as the fee of the
session-clerk, with the customary dues of from 40 to 60
scholars. The number of poor on the parish roll in the
year 1776 was 34 ; the supply raised for their provision
was £6 11s. 6d. In the year 1786 they had increased to
57, and the fund has also risen to £17 10s. 2d. In 1796
the number had fallen down nearly to the first statement,
being only 36, and the fund only decreased to £12 9s. It
is wholly formed by the contributions of the people at
their meetings for social worship, in the Church, the hire
they pay for the pall, and such fines as the Session can
exact for immoralities. The members of the National
Church amount to 1 023 : there are about 9 Seceders of
the Antiburgher sect, and 2 of the Nonjuror Episcopalian
profession.
Miscellaneous Infomnat ion. — A slip, or ridge of ground
along the shore on the western side of the river Erne,
appertains to this parish and to the estate of Muirtown.
About 100 years ago, the river, similar to what has been
mentioned of the ancient termination of the Spey, and of
RKMARKABLE IRRUPTION; DOUFFHILLOCK. 161
the present influx of the Lossy, flowed westward nearly 6
miles, converging with the shore. When the river gained
its present direct course, this ground by the water stag-
nate in its former bed became an island, for many years
affording secure pasturage for sheep and cattle ; but by
the drifting of the sand, this ancient channel is now filled
up, so as to be an island only during high water, divested
of much of its accommodation, and the pasturage greatly
injured by the overspreading sand.
Prior to the year 1701, the town of Findhorn, regularly
built, stood upon a pleasant plain, a mile north-west from
its present situation, and now the bottom of the sea. The
irruption, though completed in one night, and by one tide,
had long been apprehended, and the inhabitants had
gradually withdrawn. It is probable, that the drifting
sand accumulated by the united power of wind and tide,
dammed back the river, forcing open its present course,
and overwhelming the village. At that time, a level moor
stretched in a right line along the shore from Findhorn
to Burghead, for the distance only of 5 miles. The
encroachments of the sea in a semi-circular bay has made
the distance now by land a little more than 10. The
inhabitants of Findhorn were in a great measure supplied
with fuel from this moor, the cutting up of which might
have been the cause of the encroachment. On this moor,
near the shore, stood a conical Mount, evidently artificial,
about 40 fathoms high: it was called the Douff hillock,
and afforded a view of the Firth and the whole countn-
around. An old man, still alive, has gathered berries
among the heath around its base. Many roots and trunks
of oak and fir trees were then found in the moor, and a
few are still dug in the moss of Hatton, confirming the
truth of the tradition, that a forest once occupied what is
now the bottom of the sea, and the downs between Find-
horn and Duffus. The sand-banks oppose a feeble barrier
to the power of every storm from the north, by which
they are themselves forced farther on the shore, and banks
of peat-earth are thereby discovered C or 8 feet below the
sand. Within the flood-mark of the Bay of Findhorn,
where the estate of Muirtown borders with West Grange,
in the year 1787, extensive beds of peat earth were dis-
covered, deemed such a treasure at the first as to excite a
law-suit, as on the records of the sheriff court, between
VOL. ii. 11
162 LAW-PLEA ABOUT A CORROSIVE PEAT-MOSS.
the landlord and his tenants, even for the duration of the
current leases ; but after the commencement of the litiga-
tion, it was found this fuel had such an offensive smell,
and corrosive power on kitchen utensils of copper and
iron, as to be absolutely improper for any domestic
purpose. This peat was found at 2 or 3 feet under the
sand, not in a continuous bed, but in detached banks, as
if covered by sand when formerly used, in a period beyond
the remembrance of the passing generation.
Within the Bay, near the course of the river, is the
" yaar," probably the yard fishery, principally of salmon.
It is an enclosure, formed of stakes wattled with twigs or
brush-wood. At high water, the fish swim over the fence ;
but, heedless of the gradual reflux of the tide, their retreat
cut off, they are left gasping on the sand. This fishery is
supposed to have been the device of the brethren of the
Abbey. On its dissolution, the " yaar " was acquired by the
community of Forres, and was then placed a mile nearer
to the town, and still pays 4s. 4d. of the stipend of that
parish. The vestiges of three different "yaars" may be still
traced on the sands. From 8 to 12 barrel of salmon used
formerly to be the produce ; and it was let at the rent of
£6 in the year; but the proprietor's estate afforded wood
for its repair, of which at present no vestige remains.
The " yaar " therefore is not kept in very good repair, and it
is supposed to be injudiciously placed. It has accordingly
failed much in its returns, which probably will not be
recovered, till the rising plantations afford materials at
hand for its necessities. On some occasions, herrings, but
rarely, have been found inclosed.
How far the industry and device of man, in conjunction
with the ravage of the fish upon each other, and on their
respective roes, may tend to diminish their numbers on
the whole, seems as yet to be more apprehended than
ascertained. A small premium for the destruction of the
more voracious kinds upon the coasts of Britain might be
perhaps not improperly conjoined with the prohibitonr
statutes respecting black-fish.] (Survey of the Province
of Moray.}
HOUSE OF TANNACHIE; ESTATES OF LOGIE AND COTHALL. 163
Next southward is
THE PAEISH OF FORBES, .
Far-uis, i.e., near the water. The parish ex-
tendeth from the Bay of Kinloss southward upon
the river 3 miles, and from the east to the river 2
miles. The town standeth 2 miles north-west of
Kafford, 1^ miles south of Kinloss, and 2 miles
east from Dyke. It is situated in a pure and
wholesome air, on a rising ground, sloping to
the south and north, and commandeth a charm-
ing view of the Firth and the adjacent country.
It consists of one street from east to west of well
built and convenient houses.
In the middle standeth the Tolbooth, adorned
with a steeple of modern work and a clock.
Near the west end standeth the Church, and
beyond it the Castle Hill, which, with some lands
about it, has been the property of the Dunbars,
Sheriffs of Moray, since about the year 1450, and
belongs now to Sir James Grant of Grant.
In the parish to landward the House of Tanachie
standeth at the head of the Bay, the seat of Alex.
Tulloch of Tanachie, whose family have enjoyed
these lands above 250 years. A part of the lands
of Tanachie have lately been sold to Urquhart ;
and Loggie, in the south of the parish, formerly
the property of Tulloch of Tanachie, now belongs
to Sir James Grant of Grant, and is called Cot-
hall. Here there are a neat house and valuable
164 PROPERTIES IN THE PARISH OF TORRES.
improvements. Near to Tanachie is Bogtounr
the small heritage of a cadet of Tanachie's family.
Close by Bogtoun is West Grange, a part of the
estate of Dunbar of Grange. To the west of the
town is Bennageth, a small feu belonging to
Alexander Lesly ; and west thereof is Mundole,
which has often changed masters, and now per-
taineth to Sir James Grant of Grant. Below
Mundole, on the side of the river, is the GriesTiipy
purchased by David Laird of Brodie from Suther-
land of Duffus about the year 1620, and is now
the property of the Laird of Brodie. It was
anciently a part of the estate of Lauder of
Quarrelwood, whose heiress brought it to Chis-
liolm, and his heiress to Sutherland. A half
mile south of the town is the House of Sancharr
the seat of Duncan Urquhart of Burdsyards.
This is an ancient branch of the Urquharts of
Croinarty. I find in an indenture between
William Thane of Calder and Hutcheon Bose,
Baron of Kilravock, dated at Forres 21 June,
1482 ; Alexander Urquhart of Burdsyards is a
witness. The family is still in a flourishing way.
West of Sanchar are the lands of Benneferry,
Cnockomie, and some others belonging to the
family of Moray.
[For " Sweno's Stone" see Military History.} (ED.)
FORRES.
[Situation, Soil, Climate. — The parish of Forres, south-
ward of Kinloss, stretches across the plain, rather from
STATE OP PROPERTY IN THE PARISH OF FORRES. 165
the Bay of Findern than from the sea, till it meets the
parish of Rafford on the south ; both occupying the breadth
of the low land from that bay to the bottom of the moun-
tain. The parish is nearly in the form of a triangle — its
length from east to west about 3 miles, and its breadth
from north to south nearly 6. The Royal Burgh, giving its
name to the parish, is placed on a rising ground, nearly in
its middle. The name denoting upon or near to water,
and the appearance of the ground, give reason to suppose
that the River Findern might have originally held its
course nearer to the town, and a considerable stream from
the southern mountain runs close by the houses on its
northern side. The south and south-east parts of the
parish are hilly, covered with short heath and furze, but
by much the greater part is one continued rich, well-
cultivated field. The climate is inferior to no part of
Scotland; the air is serene, healthful, and dry. The
town commands an extensive prospect of a fertile country,
embellished by the seats of many neighbouring pro-
prietors.
State of Property. — The parish is shared among nine
proprietors, besides the lands belonging to the town, and
some smaller proprietors holding of the burgh. The Earl
of Moray has Knockowney, Flewis, and Belnaferry,
amounting in the Cess-Book to £290 18s. lOd. The
estate of Sanchar and Burdsyards, appertaining to George
Grant, Esq., amounts to £1,030 7s. 2d. The lands of
Grieshop, belonging to John Gordon of Edintore, Esq., are
£432 15s. 4d. The estate of Belnageith, belonging to
Alexander Leslie, Esq., is £225 3s. 4d. Alex. Penrose
Ouming of Altyr and Gordonstown has Mundole and
Cotehall, £126 9s. 6d. Alexander Urquhart, Esq., has
Tannachy, £261 12s. 9d. Joseph Dunbar of Grange, Esq.,
has a valuation of £213 8s. 8d. ; and John Brander of
Pitgaveny, Esq., has Waterford, valued at £117 13s. 5d.,
in which, however, the valuation also of Cotehall seems to
be included. The whole valued rent of the parish amounts
to £2,954 6s. 6d. Scots.
The farms are not of very great extent, few or none
exceeding 60 or 80 acres. In the neighbourhood of the
town lands let from £2 10s. to £3 sterling the acre. These
are principally farmed by horse-hirers, and are chiefly in
grass ; and by the high wages they get for the hire of
ICC OLDEST CHARTEKS OF FORRES DESTROYED BY FIRE.
their horses, are enabled to pay this enormous price for
land. In the country part of the parish the average rent
will not exceed £1 10s. the acre.
Forres is a handsome, well-built town — the high street
from east to west about one mile in length — near the
middle is the town-house and jail, a pretty high square
tower, and a kind of timber spire. It is not known when
it was erected into a royal burgh. The charter granted
by James IV., dated June 23, 1496, narrates — " That the
ancient charters have been destroyed in the time of war,
or by the violence of tire, and grants of new in free
burgage with the lands formerly belonging to the com-
munity, particularly the lands called Griveship, Baillie-
lands, Meikle Bog, with the King's Meadow, Lobranstowu,
with Crealties and Ramflat, and common pasturage in the
Forest of Drumondside and Tulloch ; with power annually
to elect a Provost, Bailies, and other magistrates and
officers necessary, and to constitute the Provost and
Bailies Sheriffs within the burgh and its liberties, and
discharge the Sheriff of the shire of Elgin and Forres, to
exercise his office within the said burgh or its liberties ;
with power to have a cross, a weekly market, and an
annual fair to continue for eight days, with all and sundry
other privileges and immunities of a free burgh, &c."
The number of the Council is 17 — Provost, Bailies,
Dean of Guild, and Treasurer included. The old Council
chooses the new, and the new Council chooses the magis-
trates, and puts them off, or continues them, as they see
cause. The burgesses, inhabitants, or proprietors in the
country, may be chosen into the Council, timely notice
being given by the drum and other customary advertise-
ments. The revenue is nearly £100 sterling a year, and
with the towns of Nairn, Inverness, and Fortrose in the
county of Ross, has a representative in the House of
Commons.
State Ecclesiastical. — The yearly value of the living is
98 bolls of bear, 20 of meal, and £40 16s. 8d. sterling,
with a glebe of 4 acres, and a manse and offices in town.
The Earl of Moray is patron. The burying-ground is on
the north side of the street, near the west end, where the
Church also stands — a heavy building, without a steeple.
It was built in 1775, and is 72 by 36 feet within walls,
and may contain 1,800 people. The members of the
STATE ECCLESIASTICAL OF FORRES. 167
Established Church are about 2,987, from which there is
only to be deducted a few Seceders, who are not increasing.
The provision for the poor arises chiefly from the charity
of those who attend the Church. Mr. Alexander Watt,
the last minister, left a donation to the poor of about
£200 sterling. The whole, with the sum of £15, being
the interest of money left under the direction of the Town
Council, and divided among the poor within the town,
amounts to about £55 sterling a year, and is distributed
among 125 persons, many of whom are heads of families.
There is a Grammar School in the town, where Latin,
Greek, French, and the various branches of the mathe-
matics, are at present taught with great success, and a
young gentleman may have board and education for £20
a year. To this the school for reading English, writing,
and arithmetic, has been of late conjoined, under the care
of the same master, assisted by an usher. The conjoined
salary is equal to £35 sterling yearly, and the fees of
generally more than 100 scholars, besides those girls who
attend at a stated separate hour in the day.
There is likewise a boarding school for young ladies,
where the various branches of needle-work, music, and
other parts of female education are taught. The mistress
has a salary from the town of £16 a year, and a young
lady may have every requisite accommodation for £15 a
year. Music is taught for 2 guineas a year, gum-flowers
for 4 guineas, tambour for £1, and plain work for 10s.
Particular attention is paid to the morals, and to impress
the minds of the young people of both sexes with proper
sentiments of honour and discretion ; and from the abili-
ties of the present teachers, and the attention paid by the
Magistrates, and the healthy situation of the town, there
is not anywhere, perhaps, a more eligible place for the
education of youth. Besides these established schools
there are private teachers both for girls and boys, to
whom some small donations are also made by the Magis-
trates for their encouragement. In one the pianoforte,
and some of the other branches of female accomplishment,
are taught for half the dues of the public establishment.
Miscellaneous Information. — There are in Forres 60
merchants and shop keepers. The only manufactures
earried on are for the supply of the town and its vicinity,
except the spinning of linen yarn, which has for 20 years
168 TRADE OF FORRES; FINDHORN RIVER AND BAY.
back brought a considerable supply of money into the
country. The merchants are in the use of buying the
yarn and sending it to Glasgow, where there is a ready
sale, unless the market be overstocked with Irish yarn,
which only on account of its cheapness is at certain times
preferred. But since the year 1784 this trade has been
gradually declining, owing to the increase of the number
of machines for spinning cotton, and many of those
formerly employed in spinning yarn for sale now spin
Dutch flax for the manufacturing companies of Aberdeen
and Inverness. In the year 1784 one merchant sent
23,290 spindles to Glasgow, collected in Forres and in its
vicinity, the other dealers in this article sent about
47,000, which, at the rate of 2s. for spinning, produced
£7,092 sterling.
The River Findern and the brook at Forres are the
only streams in the parish. The fish found in the River
and Bay of Findern are salmon, trout, eels, and flounders ;
haddocks are got in the firth, and sold in the town and
country around. The quantity of salmon exported from
Forres, upon the average of the ten years from 1773 to
1783, was 300 barrels yearly, besides the home consumpt,
not very considerable. It is sold at 4d. the Ib.
The River Findern is navigable for boats no farther
than the tide flows. The distance from the town to the
harbour does not exceed three miles, and the tide flows
more than half that distance, and the low ground at the
bottom of the eminence on which the town stands does
not exceed the level of half tide by 14 feet, and that
depth of canal would carry vessels to the town, and the
canal would be kept clear by the brook. There is hardly
any place, therefore, where there is more encouragement
to make a canal, did the commerce of the town require it.
The flux of the tide covers a triangular piece of ground,
the Bay of Findhern, wholly dry at low water, except the
channel of the river, and a little space at the inlet; it
contains about one thousand acres of a stiff clay soil, dis-
tinguished by the epithet of carse ground, a part, however,
being a fine compact sand, with light particles of earth
deposited by the floods. All this might, at an expense
inconsiderable compared with its value, be easily recovered
from the sea, a bar of sand stretching across the mouth of
the river would prevent the violence of- any surge upon
RHINO'S DERIVATION AND PRIMITIVE DETAILS OFFORRES. 169
the embankment which would be required. There is one
quarry of limestone upon Mr. Cuming's estate, but being
mixed with other matters, it has never been used in any
considerable quantities.] (Survey of Province of Moray. ,)
FORRES.
[This town must have been a place of some note at a
very early period. It is, in all probability, the Varris of
Ptolemy's chart. And Boethius, so early as the year 535.
makes mention of it as a burgh having merchants, who,
for some trifling cause, were put to death, and their goods
confiscated to the King's use. Far-ius (near the water),
is probably the Gaelic derivation of the name. During
the 9th and 10th centuries it was frequently visited by
the Scottish Kings. Donald, the son of Constantine, was
slain at Forres. Malcolm frequently resided in the neigh-
bourhood, and was killed in 959 at Ulern, which Shaw
supposes is Aldern [others opine Blervie Castle]. King
Duffus was murdered in the Castle of Forres by Donevald
{Donald], the governor, about the year 966. His body
being interred under the bridge of Kinloss.* After the
establishment of the bishoprick, however, Forres does not
seem to have increased, or indeed kept up its consequence
so much as Elgin, which then became the centre of the
•ecclesiastical establishments of the Province, and the resort
of the country gentry. The consequence is, that we find
fewer remains of antiquity, either domestic or ecclesi-
astical, about Forres than in the latter. It was the seat
of the Archdean [Archdeacon], however, and had a Par-
sonage dedicated to St. Laurence. [The remains of this
residence are at the north-west corner of Gordon Street,
which was built on the site of the one burnt in May, 1390,
along with St. Laurence's Church, by the Wolfe of Bade-
noch.] There was a chapel, also, [dedicated to St. Leonard]
& mile south of the town [where the foundations yet
remain] and one at Logie.
The ancient charters of the burgh having been destroyed
by fire, a new one was granted by James IV. in the year
1496 [with all the privileges of a Royal Burgh].
The town is pleasantly situated on a fertile plain, with
undulating hilly ground to the south, and a sloping valley,
extending by a gentle declivity to the north, where the
•* Boethius, Buchanan.
170 ST. LAURENCE'S CHURCH ; TRAFALGAR MONUMENT.
River Findhorn, sweeping round from the south-west,
forms an estuary with the sea. Findhom, the sea-port of
the burgh, lies on the north point of this estuary, 3 miles
distant, and the ruins of Kinloss are situated on the
margin of the winding bay.
The town consists of one long street, extending from
east to west, with lanes or closses running off on each
side. On the east is the Cluny Hill, a conspicuous object,
with a tower on the summit.
In the centre of the town is the new jail, a very hand-
some structure recently erected. The old jail, which
occupied the same position, was built about the year
1700, and 20 years afterwards, by the subscriptions of the
spirited burgesses, four pyramids, and a central dome with
a clock, were added.
The Church, at the western extremity of the main
street, is a plain building [having a double belfry, con-
taining two poor bells, good enough for such a meagre
establishment. The former Church of St. Laurence was
on this stance.]
Anderson's Institution,* an educational establishment
for the youth of the burgh, is a neat and commodious
structure, erected within the last 20 years from a fund
left by a native of the town.
The Trafalgar Monument, an octagonal tower of three
storeys, and b'6 feet in height, was built on the Cluny
Hill by subscription in 1806-7, in memory of Lord Nel-
son's naval victory. It contains several apartments, where
an anniversary dinner is held to commemorate the event
which gave rise to its erection. [The first room has a recess
containing a marble bust of Nelson. The other flats are
empty. Outside on panels are carved — " In memory of
Admiral Lord Nelson. Nile, 1st August, 1798; Copen-
hagen, 2nd April, 1801 ; Trafalgar, 21st August, 1805."]
The view from the top of this [octagonal] tower embraces
the richly wooded and fertile plains to the west, through
which winds the River Findhorn, the undulating hills to
the south, a large open country to the east, and the blue
waters of the ocean flowing up on the north, bounded in
* Jonathan Anderson disponed in 1814 to the Magistrate*
and Council of Torres his lands of Cowlairs, near Glasgow, for*
a Free Charity School for the parishes of Forres, Eafford, and
Kinloss. (ED.)
THE CASTLE HILL, FORRES. 171
the distance by the Sutherland and Ross-shire hills, and
the two Soutors which guard the entrance to the Bay of
Cromarty, forming a combination of rich and varied
scenery, which few situations can rival.
The Castle Hill is a green mound at the western ter-
mination of the town, surmounted by a few dilapidated
walls, the only remains of what must, at one period, have
been a bold and stately Castle— a place of defence and
safety, and frequently the abode of Royalty. It is said
that after the foul murder of King Duffus within its walls,
it was demolished. In the course of time, however, it
must have been rebuilt. In 1346, Randolph, Earl of
Moray, dates his charters from it. During some subse-
quent period, the Urquharts of Cromarty were appointed
heritable keepers of it. In still later times it became the
property of the Dunbars of Westfield [who for 300 years
held the office of hereditary Sheriffs of Moray, and had
the Castle as their official residence.] It passed into the
possession of the Earl of Seafield [and is now the property
of Sir Charles Roderick MacGregor, London.] Like the
Castle on Lady Hill at Elgin, it was in all probability a
strong square tower with battlements, and a moat sur-
rounding it, and served as a place of defence and safety
during those turbulent periods.
[The ruins which occupy the centre are no part of the
old Castle, but are the abortive attempt of William Dawsori,
Provost of Forres, about 1712, to build a town-house,
which never reached beyond the first storey. The apart-
ments are arched and lighted with small square windows,
which had been guarded by iron stanchions, which have
been taken away ; and although a coating of grass and
mould protects the arches, they are rapidly yielding to
decay. The foundations of the old Castle, which were of
more extensive proportions than the stance of Dawsori 's
Town-House, were exposed while the slopes on the north-
west were -being planted with trees some years ago.
On the level space between the ruins and the western
slope of the Castle Hill, stands an Obelisk of Peterhead
granite, 65 feet high, erected by public subscription in
1857. The reason of its erection here is that the projec-
tors, having been refused a suitable site in Dr. Thomson's
native town of Cromarty, his friend, Sir C. R. MacGregor,
who took a leading part in the subscription for the Monu-
172 DR. THOMSON'S OBELISK ON THE CASTLE HILL, FORRES.
ment, made offer of a site on the Castle Hill of Forres,
which was accepted by the subscribers.
The western face of the die bears this inscription : —
To the memory of Assistant-Surgeon James Thomson, born
nt Cromarty on the 8th March, 1823, and deceased in the
Crimea on the 5th of October, 1 854. He was with the 54th
Regiment at Malta in 1850, when the cholera broke out, and
shortly proved fatal to all the surgeons of the corps, himself
alone excepted. The skill, fortitude, and humanity displayed
by him in arresting the progress of that disease gained for him
the praise of the Commander-in-Chief. He was present with
the same regiment at the Battle of Alma in 1854, and a few
days afterwards, when the British were leaving the field, he
volunteered to remain behind with 700 desperately wounded
Russians. Isolated from his countrymen, endangered by the
vicinity of large bodies of Cossacks ill supplied with food, and
exposed to the risk of pestilence, he succeeded in restoring to
health about 400 of the enemy, and embarking them for
Odessa. He then died from the effects of excessive hardships
and privation. This public monument is erected as a tribute
of respect for the virtue of an officer whose life was useful, and
whose death was glorious.
Opposite the gate by which access is got to the Castle
Hill is Auchernack Cottage, belonging to the Misses Grant.
Here formerly stood the humble dwelling of James Dick.
the founder of " The Dick Bequest." He left his native
parish in early life and went to America, where he
accumulated a large fortune, and at his death in 1828 he
bequeathed £140,000, by which the parochial school-
masters in the counties of Aberdeen, Banff, and Moray each
receive from £20 to £30 yearly. The Bequest is managed
by the Society of Writers to the Signet, Edinburgh.
Dick's father was a shoemaker and leather merchant, and
a burgess and burgh-heritor, owning a close of houses and
residing in the front one, which was an unpretending but
and a ben, with open fire-ingle. Above the door was a
freestone lintel, with the initials A.D., E.D., for Alexander-
Dick and Elizabeth Dick — the father and the mother—
with the date 1742. The lintels and rybats of the door-
way were, on the demolition of Dick's house, cared for by
John Miller of the Forres Gazette, who had them built
into the wall of the Clunyhill Cemetery, in his own family
burying-ground, for preservation. Also in his printing-
MARKET CROSS, TOWN HOUSE, AND HARD MOOR, TORRES. 173
office he has preserved the flag-stone on which the great
educational benefactor's cradle was rocked — the only bit
of pavement in the kitchen, conveniently embedded in
the clay floor by the ingle-side.
Valetudinarians at the Clunyhill Hydropathic Estab-
lishment may be interested in the Suspension Bridge
which crosses the Findhorn, built in 1831, at a cost of
£10,000, from plans by Sir Samuel Brown, R.N.
The Market Cross is rather a striking attraction in the
middle of High Street. It was erected in 1844 at a cost
of £180, from designs by Thomas Mackenzie, Elgin.
East of the Cross is the Toivn-House, with tower and
clock, having illuminated dial-plates. In the court-room
is a painting, by Cranmer, of the Riding of the Marches
by the Provost, Magistrates, and Town Council in 1840.
Behind the bench is a stained-glass window, having St.
Laurence standing on a gridiron, gifted by Smith of Coli-
thie, near Huntly, a native of Forres. In the Council
Chamber is a painting of the tournament held at St.
John's Mead in the 14th century, also executed by
Cranmer, presented by the Earl of Fife.
The Agricultural Hall, erected in 18G7 at a cost of
£1,700, and the Mechanics Institute, having a library of
3,000 volumes, and a collection of local pictures, are worth
seeing.
The Hard Moor, to the westward of Forres, which
commences after crossing the Findhorn, is the traditional
region where Macbeth met the witches; while he and
Banquo journeyed from the Western Islands to meet King
Duncan at the Castle of Forres. Such is the wonderful
power of Shakespeare, that out of a few meagre and
uncertain legends, he has ri vetted the imagination of
thousands to this locality. It is indeed a " hard moor "
and " blasted heath " even at this present, and well befits
the imaginary scene of such a supernatural meeting. A
knoll on the south side of the railway, crowned with a
group of dark old pines, is pointed out where the inter-
view was held.
Banquo. — How far is't call'd to Forres '( What are these so
wither'd and so wild in their attire, that look not like th'
inhabitants o' th' earth, and yet are on't ? Live you, or are
you ought that man may question 1 You seem to understand
me, by each at once her choppy finger laying upon her skinny
174 THE WITCHES' STANE, CROSS, AND MEDALLION.
lips. You should be women ; and yet your beards forbid me
to interpret that you are so.
Macbeth. — Speak, if you can ; what are you 1
1st Witch. — All hail, Macbeth ! hail to thee, Thane of Glamis.
2nd Witch. — All hail, Macbeth ! hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor.
3rd Witch.— Ml hail, Macbeth ! that shall be King hereafter !
The Witches' Stane, on the roadside in a ditch to the
east of the town, indicates where one of three witches
that witched King Duffus was burned and buried. When
the adjacent house of Bronte Place was being built, or as
others give out, while the turnpike road was in progress,
the workmen broke this Stone and had part of it built
into the house, when the townspeople, discovering the
vandalism, caused it to be clasped with iron, in which
state it still remains. Other two Stones have long since
disappeared.
At the old Toll Bar, the Cross formerly stood, where is
the base or socket of the Little Cross of Forres.
About 1790, in levelling and paving the streets of
Forres, there was found near the Cross, a good depth
under the sand, a Medallion of a compound substance and
chocolate colour, about 2| inches diameter, and f of an
inch in thickness. On the one side stood an elegant
female figure, like an armed goddess, but rather in a civic
Roman dress, having in her hand a javelin or lance,
reversed, with its point touching the earth. She stood
between two altars. On the one there seemed to be
incense burning, and on the other a dish like a Roman
ferculum or plate for food. On the back-ground of this
side was an imitation of one or two distant fleets, and the
inscription on this side was CONSERVAT UTRAMQUE, i.e.,
she presemes each. On the other side, two warriors in the
Roman dress (the short tunic of one of them seeming to
be party-coloured, by a faint appearance of chequering)
were in the act of leaping on warlike instruments or
trophies on a globe. The inscription upon this side was
DURUS PR^ELATA TROP^EIS. It was imagined that the
artist had by mistake put Duras for Duris, because, with
such a small change, the two inscriptions spoke sense and
grammar, and chimed into one hexameter verse : — CON-
SERVAT UTRAMQUE ; DURIS PR^ILATA TROP^IS. It seemed
natural to suppose that the female figure, with her lance
pointed down, was an emblem of peace, which had pre-
DRUIDICAL BULLET-SHAPED STONE FOUND AT TORRES. 175
served two fleets and nations, and that the invaders and
invaded had mutually preserved the blessings of peace to
their hard- worn trophies, and sealed their treaty of amity
by such offerings on the altars as were suitable to their
modes of worship.
This Medallion was transmitted to the Secretary of the
Society of Antiquaries, Edinburgh, requesting the opinion
of that body ; but they took no notice of this curious relic,
probably because they could not.
Had it been found near Sweno's Stone it might possibly
have been connected therewith.
A bullet-shaped Stone, weighing several cwts., was
found at Bahill, Rafford, which was given to Mr. Matthews
by a former generation of his family. On leaving Forres
for Argyleshire he handed it to the Museum. This relic
is of hard granite, without a single scar. Local antiquaries
opine that it was connected with the worship of the
Druids — such being in the vicinity of their altars ; sus-
pected culprits having been placed in a cradle on its top.
If the cradle rocked on the stone, the victim was adjudged
guilty ; if it did or would not rock, release ensued.] (Eo.)
The scenery on the River Findhorn is by far the finest
in Moray. This mountain-river takes its rise in the
Monad-leadh Hills, and traversing a country of 60 miles in
direct extent, increased by its windings of 30 miles more,
it falls into the Moray Firth. In its course to the sea it
struggles on through many opposing barriers of granite
mountains — rushing through these narrow gorges with boil-
ing and tumultuous current — now reposing its still waters
in some round sweeping dark pool, and now patiently but
assiduously wearing its way through the dark red sand-
stone cliffs which jut out from its channel, or which range
in layer above layer, forming high barriers on its banks,
while plants and shrubs, and lofty trees, crown and
encompass the steep heights, and contrast finely their
variegated green with the deep red of the cliffs on which
they grow. Here, where in some overshadowed dells the
summer sun with difficulty penetrates, is the solitary
abode of the eagle or falcon, or the eyries of the congre-
gated heron, thickly perched among the trees ; while
during the hot noon, the ascending salmon rest by dozens
in the deep dark pools.
As the stream winds towards the sea its course becomes
17() PROPERTIES IN THE PARISH OF RAFFORD.
less interrupted and boisterous; it now sweeps along-
fertile meadows and wooded copses, till at last all opposi-
tion giving way, it flows out a broad, still, and placid
expanse of water, and meets the tides of the ocean half
way up the smooth sandy bay. A low and level district
surrounds the estuary of the Findhorn, and during the
ever memorable floods of August, 1829, such was the
rapidity of the rise of the stream, now swelled into another
Amazon, that the whole plain to the north and west of
Forres became one sea of water, so that a large boat, in
full sail, swept along the fields to within a few yards of
the burgh.] (Rhind's Sketches of Moray.}
THE PARISH OF RAFFORD
Lieth south-east from Forres. The Church
standeth near the centre, 2 miles south-east of
Forres, and 5 miles north-east of Edinkyllie. In
the north-east end is the barony of Burgie, and
the seat of Joseph Dunhar of Grange, a brand i
of the Dunbars of Mochrum. Mr. Alexander
Dunbar, Dean of Moray (and very probably son
of Mochram), was one of the Lords of Session
anno 1567 (And. Col.}. He married Katheririe
Reid, daughter of Thomas and niece of Robert
Reid, Abbot of Kinloss, and Bishop of Orkney,
and with her got a part of the Abbey-lauds, such
as Burgie, Grange, &c. His son Thomas Dunbar
was father of Robert of Grange by a first marriage,
and of Robert of Burgie by a second. About
1680 (Burgie having run deep in debt to his
cousin), Grange got possession of Biirgie by ad-
judication, and made it his seat. Below Burgie
lieth Tarras, which (with Clunie in the upper end
ALTYRE HOUSE; ST. JOHN'S MEAD. 177
of the parish) pertaineth to the Earl of Moray.
West from Burgle is the barony of Blarvie, a part
of the Church or Bishop's lands. It was long the
heritage of the family of Dunbars. In the begin-
ning of this century, it was purchased by Alex-
ander Macintosh, son of John Macintosh, bailie
of Inverness ; and from him it was purchased by
William, late Earl Fife, and is now the property
of his son Captain Lewis Duff. South from the
Church a mile and a half, stands the House of
Altyre, the seat of Cuminine of Altyre, reputed
chief of that name.
Altyre House is fitted up in the modern Italian style,
and has been enlarged and improved by succeeding baro-
nets. Where the mansion now stands was a shooting-
lodge, in front of which, in 1795, Sir A. P. Gumming built
a residence — to which his son Sir William built an east
wing; and in 1859 the late Sir A. P. Gordon Gumming
added a west wing, and other improvements. Miss Cathe-
rine Sinclair eulogises the spot " as a perfect cluster of
arbours and green-houses, apparently a home for the
muses and graces, for pleasure, gaiety, and romance ; but
never intended for the mere vulgar ordinary purposes of
life. Within, without, and around, you see nothing but
flowers rushing in at every window, covering every table,
and besetting all the doors. This is the Gourt of Flora
herself, and you would suppose we had come to a horti-
cultural show."
The paintings and statuary are unmatched in any seat
in the Province of Moray; while the grounds and gardens
vie with the richest examples of park scenery in this
country. There is a beautiful semicircular vale called
St. Johns Mead, where was a small Religious House.
This family represents the Earls of Badenoch, whose
curious Charters and Extracts of the Baron Court-books
of Altyre have been published.
[In 1657, Robert Comyii, the Laird of Altyre, married
VOL. II. 12
178 ALTYRE; BURGIE CASTLE; BLERVIE TOWER.
Lucy, eldest daughter of Sir Ludovick Gordon of Gor-
donston, through whom, on the death of Sir William
Gordon in 1795, the estate of Gordonston devolved on
Alexander Penrose Gumming of Altyre, who thereupon
assumed the name and arms of Gordonston, and was
created a Baronet of Great Britain in 1804, and died in
1806. He was succeeded by Sir William Gordon Gordon
Gumming, 2nd Bart, of Altyre and Gordonston, who mar-
ried a daughter of Campbell of Islay, and grand-daughter
of the 5th Duke of Argyll. Sir William died in 1854, and
was succeeded by his son, Sir Alexander Penrose Gordon
Cumming, 3rd Bart., who was born at Altyre in 1816.
In 1845 he married Anne Pitcairn Campbell, only daughter
of the Rev. Augustus Campbell, Rector of Liverpool. On
Sir Alexander's death at Edinburgh in 1866, the present
Baronet, Sir William Gordon Gordon Cumming, succeeded
to the titles and estates, he being then in his 19th year.
Burgle Castle is a striking fabric, consisting of a square
tower of six storeys, built in 1602, now situated in the
garden of an adjoining mansion of three storeys, pictur-
esquely built partly from, the stones of the old castle in
1702. The shrubberies and trees are beautiful. Dr. Wm.
Gordon, M.D., occupies Burgie House.
Burgin frequently occurs in the Registrum Episcopates
Moraviense. It was attached to the Abbey of Kinloss.
Alex. Dunbar was the first laird of the estate of Burgie,
who married Katherine Reid, the niece of Robert Reid,
the last Abbot. The date 1662, with the arms and initials
of these Dunbars, are cut on the chimney-piece of the
hall. Burgie is now the possession of the trustees of
llobert Tulloch, deceased.
Blervie Castle or Tower is about 2£ miles south-east of
Forres, and north of the manse of Rafford. A mere frag-
ment now exists, excepting the square tower (containing
the staircase) of five storeys — an etching of which is
given in Rhind's Sketches of Moray, as it stood in 1839.
The present House of Blervie was built from the stones of
the old castle of date 1398 — as appears from a stone
forming part of the chimney-piece of the hall, still in the
ruins. The old pile stood for several hours fire-proof,
when many loads of wood and turf were piled around it,
in order, as was conjectured, to get more easy access to
the stones than by punching them down. There is no
PARISH OF RAFFORD; ITS SITE, SOIL, AND CLIMATE.
trace of the family of Blarie, Blarvie, Blairvie, or Blervie,
farther back than 1713-1724, when Alexander M'Intosh
was laird. William, Earl of Fife, purchased it at the last
date — and it is now the possession of Mr. Grant Duff,
M.P. for the Elgin Burghs.] (ED.)
KAFFORD.
[Situation, Soil, Climate. — The body of this parish lies
southward of Forres, in an extension of the plain into the
mountain, along the western end of the hill which sepa-
rates the vale of Pluscarden from the dales of Alves, to
which upon the northern side of this hill a wing of this
parish is stretched. From the extremity of this wing at
the east to the border of Edinkillie at the west, the parish
measures 8 miles ; but its mean length in this direction,
equal to its mean breadth, may be estimated only at the
half of that extent. The name in Gaelic may be Math-ard,
signifying the hovel of the height, or shealing, as it is
denominated in the Highlands of Scotland, a sorry tem-
porary turf cabin, for the accommodation of mountain
pasturage, having at the first probably occupied the
station of the old tower of Blervie.
The face of the country is much diversified: a con-
siderable reach of the bottom of the valley lies so level,
as easily to send a part of the water of a small lake south-
ward towards Dollas, where it joins the Lochty, turning
eastward through Pluscarden, and northward by the
Church to Forres and the bay of Findern. A consider-
able part of the arable field lies on the plains at the
bottom, and a great pai't on the sloping sides of the hills.
In some places, the soil is a deep fertile clay ; in others, a
light burning sand : a black shallow soil, incumbent on
rock, occupies some part ; and a bed of moorish soil, in
many places so thin as scarcely to cover the flat sloping
rocks, appears in other parts ; and a great proportion con-
sists of a rough brown gravel, on a bottom of small pebble,
so firmly cemented by some mineral, probably iron ore,
as to be impenetrable by the utmost power of the
plough. The air is rather dry than moist, and rather
healthful than otherwise.
State of Property. — There are three family-seats in the
parish. Burgle Castle, the property of Lewis Dunbar,
Esq., of Grange, has been above described. His valued
180 STATE OF PROPERTY IN RAFFORD PARISH.
rent in this parish amounts to £877 13s. 8d. Scots.
The Hon. Major Lewis Duff, of Blervie, quitting the
ancient castled residence of the Dunbars on the summit
of the hill, has built a handsome modern seat, snugly
shelterednear its western bottom, embellished with plan-
tations, gardens, and ornamented grounds: the valued
rent amounts to £517 17s. 4d. Scots. Altyr, the family
seat of Colonel Alexander Penrose Cuming Gordon, is
a plain old building, with neat modern wings. Widely-
extended plantations, a spacious garden, and a long reach
of fruit wall, exhibit at this place utility in alliance with
embellishment: the valued rent is £670 13s. Scots. While
these gentlemen thus contribute to the improvement of
the country at their own residences, the Earl of Moray
has done more than co-operated with them, in the
superior neatness of the dwellings of his tenants at
Clunie and Tarras, and in the improved appearance of
their fields. His Lordship's valued rent of these lands
amounts to £541 14s. lOd. — extending the valuation of
the parish to £2613 18s. lOd. Scots: the present real rent
is estimated at £1800 sterling. There are several of the
farms in the low grounds pretty extensive ; but they are
of small extent in the hilly parts of the parish. Making
a reasonable allowance for the value of the improved
inclosures in the occupation of the proprietors, the mean
rent is equal to £1 6s. sterling the acre.
State Ecclesiastical. — Rafford was the seat of the sub-
chanter in the diocese. Of the state of the parish of
Altyr before the Reformation, there is nothing certainly
known : it never had a pastor for itself, under any of the
Protestant dispensations. Though a part of the parish of
Delias, it had an independent parochial jurisdiction, the
separate celebration of the sacraments, and public worship
every third Sunday. In a parochial visitation of the
clergy during the fervour of the Covenant, everything
was found well ordered, save that the Sacrament had
not been celebrated for the space of three years, which
Mr. Strachan the minister excused, by the ignorance of
the people, on account of the distance of his residence,
but promised to do all he could to prepare them for it.
Altyr is within two miles of Rafford, and nearly 14
from Dollas, a desert mountain, often impassable, inter-
vening for half that distance ; yet the annexation
THE LAIKDOF ALTYRE'SOPPOSITION TO THE ANNEXATION. 181
obstinately opposed by its proprietor, and its accomplish-
ment required the utmost exertion of the clergy, great as
their influence at that period was. The record bears, " it
Avas for some time deferred, because the laird could not
be found at home." When his presence was at last won,
" he alleged he had weighty reasons against the annexa-
tion, and craved a delay to state them in writing." They
were not entered on the record : "but after many addresses
made, and debating with him for many days, and Lord
Brodie, having reasoned with him apart, reported, that
having offered all arguments, perceived he had a mind to
receive no satisfaction ; the presbytery laid the business
to heart, and being much weighted therewith, did desire
the laird of Altyre to tell his judgment, who, with all the
elders and people, do acknowledge, with heaviness of
mind, that there is a necessity of accommodation, and
wish that a way may be found for remedy : the presby-
tery being much affected with the sad condition of Delias
and Altyr, agree that Altyr should be declared to be
joined for accommodation to Rafford, and to crave the
.approbation of the synod. And upon the 19th of August,
1659, Mr. James Strachan of Dollas and Altyr was or-
dained to intimate publicly to the people of Altyr, upon
the Lord's day come eight days, that they were now dis-
joined from Dollas, and annexed to the parish of Rafford,
and ordained to repair to the said Parish Church in all
time coming ; and Mr. Fullerton, minister thereof, to take
up their names, and have a care of them as of the rest of
his parishioners." Although this must have been agree-
able to the people, both from their own ideas concerning
religious obligation, and from the sanction of ecclesias-
tical decree, at that time of no light estimation, yet so
greatly did the awe of petty despotism preponderate, when
the lives and properties of the inhabitants were under
the arbitrary award of each capricious baronial proprietor,
that in the parochial visitation of the succeeding year,
" complaint is made by the minister, that Altyr and his
people totally absented themselves from Rafford Church ;
and the presbytery, after application and addresses made
to Altyr, to move him fairly to his duty, ordain the
minister to summon before them the Laird of Altyr, and
the other inhabitants of the late parish there." It has
-been already mentioned, that the authority of the Parlia-
182 •"•" KIHK OF RAFFORD; SUENO'S STONE.
raent was in the following year conjoined with the sanc-
tion of the Church, by the Act which ratifies the erection
of the parish of Kinloss.
The Church at present is a mean fabric, but in a central
situation. The stipend is £55 lls. Id. sterling, and G
chalders of barley, the Communion allowance included.
The right of patronage appertains to Miss Brodie of
Lethin. The salary of the school, exclusive of the fees
of teaching, and the perquisites of the Session-Clerk, are 16
bolls of bear. The poor on the parish roll amount to 40 :
the tenants who attend the Parochial Church contribute
for their support about £9 sterling in the year, to which
there is only to add the interest of £50. The members
of the National Church are 1064, and the Seceders are 7.
Miscellaneous Information. — The people, on the whole,
are a sensible, decent, and religious society. The great
occupation of the female part is spinning flax raised on
the farms, and manufactured into sheeting, diaper, and
sackcloth ; and many of the poorer class spin the lint of
the merchants, at lOd. and Is. the spindle. This gives
employment to 16 or 17 looms in the parish. Several of
the farmers also work up timber, and make their own
ploughs, carts, and other implements. There is a fine
quarry of freestone on the estate of Burgie, to which the
access is easy, and the stone durable and not difficult in
working. There is also a slate quarry on the estate of
Clunie, let out by the tenant of that farm to quarriers, at
the rate of 3s. 4d. the 1000 untrimmed slate. The noted
Obelisk, called Sueno's Stone, on the estate of Tarras, has
been amply described by Pennant and Cordiner. Ifc
cannot be doubted, that it has been erected in memory
of some important event which happened before the
introduction of letters into Scotland. It is at once a
specimen of hieroglyphic writing, and a monument of
the state of the arts in this kingdom in an age very
remote. The sculpture, if it had remained complete, could
not even yet be deemed inelegant; and it must have
required no small degree of skill to have quarried, trans-
ported, and erected a Column of such height. Two cir-
cumstances are somewhat surprising : that curiosity has
never thought of exploring whether anything lies hid
about its base; and, that regard for such a singularly
splendid Monument has neither induced its noble owner,
ORIGIN OF THE CUMMINGS OF ALTYRE. 18o
or the gentlemen of the county, to preserve the figures it
still exhibits from the effacing influence of the weather,
by such a simple expedient as a coating or two of paint ;
seeing the expense of a small ornamental building over it
might be deemed too great a sacrifice to an object in
which our ancestors only were interested.] {Survey of
the Province of Moray.)
And this leads ine to speak of
THE FAMILY OF CUMMINE, COMYN, OB GUMMING.
Cummine is a surname of great antiquity in
Scotland ; but the origin of it is not agreed on.
Some deduce it from Hungary, others from Nor-
mandy with William the Conqueror ; but I
incline to think that the name is a Scottish
patronimic.
It was anciently the custom to assume a sur-
name from reputed saints, or eminent men ; as
Anderson from St. Andrew ; Cuthbertson from
St. Cuthbert ; Catanach, from St. Catan, &c. ;
and the learned Primate Usher (Antiq. Eccles.
Brit. cap. 15, p. 694 and 701) shows that Comin-
eus Albus, anno 657, was the sixth Abbot of the
1st ColumbKill ; from whom I would deduce the
name. And the frequent mention of the Cum-
mines, in the llth and 12th centuries, is a
presumption of a higher original than the days of
William the Conqueror.
The direct line of the family of Cuminine, from
father to son, is as follows : — (1) Comes Robertas
Cummine was killed in the battle of Alnwick in
184 THE RED AND BLACK CUMMINS; LORD BADENOCH.
1093. His son (2) John, whose brother William
was Chancellor to King David L, was father of
(3) Sir William, who married Hexilda, grand-
daughter of King Donald the Usurper, and was
father of (4) William, Lord Chamberlain to King
William. His son (5), Sir Eichard, was father of
Sir John, the Red Cummine, Lord Badenoch,
and of Sir Walter, Earl of Monteith, and Sir
William, Earl of Buchan. (6) Sir John, Lord
Badenoch, was father of (7) John, the Black
Cummine, one of the Governors of Scotland in
1286, who married Marjory, sister of King John
Baliol, which wrapped him into the Baliol inter-
est, to the ruin of his family. His son (8) John,
Lord Badenoch, was killed by Eobert Bruce in
the Church of Dumfries, in 1306, leaving a son
(9) John, who died without issue in 1326 ; and
in hun failed the direct line of a family, once the
most populous and powerful in Scotland.
Tradition bears that the family of Altyre is
come off a son of the direct line ; but at what
time I find not. They resided for some gene-
rations in Strath-Dallas, and built the Tower
there. How early they assumed the title of
Altyre I know not. But I find in a contract
between William Thane of Calder and Hutcheon
Rose of Kilravock, 21st June, 1482, Thbmas
Cummine of Altyre is arbiter. I have not seen,
the writes of this family, and therefore will not
offer to deduce the genealogy of it.
THE PARISH OF EDINKILLIE. 185
[The present representative is Sir William Gordon-
Oordou, Bart. (cr. 1804), eldest son of the late Sir Alex.
Penrose Gordon -Gumming, Bart, of Altyre, by Anne,
•daughter of the Rev. Augustus Campbell, Rector of
Liverpool, born 1848 ; succeeded as 4th Bart., 1866 ; edu-
cated at Eton. Heir presumptive, his brother, Alexander
Penrose, educated at Harrow ; born 1853 ; married at
Washington, 1877, Frances Campbell, only daughter of
the late Hon. Charles Eames, United States Minister at
Venezuela ; and has a daughter, Margaret Campbell, born
^t Washington, U.S., 3rd April, 1878.] (ED.)
They carry the paternal arms of Cummine,
without any mark of cadency, viz., Az. 3 Garbs
of Cummines, Or.
Arms of the House of Altyre. Azure, three garbs of wheat,
Or. Crest, a Lyon rampant, Or. holding in his dexter paw a
Dagger proper. Motto. COURAGE. Supporters, two Horses at
liberty, Argent ; Their manes, tails, and hoofs, Or.
Following the course of the river Erne, I now
proceed to
EDINKILLIE PAHISH,
I.e. the Face of the Wood, or a Wood in the
face of the Hill. I incline to think that here
was the Kawood and Logiefoidikenach men-
tioned [in a Chart by Alexander, King of the
Scots, dated at Dishington, in Northumbria, the
30th Sept., in the 22nd year of his reign, grant-
ing to Andrew, Bishop of Moray, and to his
successors in office, three davochs of Finlarg, in
$trathspey, in exchange for the above], and that
most part of this parish was anciently a forest.
It now lieth on both sides of the river Erne.
1SG THE PARISH OF EDINKILLIE.
The Church standeth on a brook, called Duvie
[Divie], 5 miles south of Forres, 3 miles north-
east of Ardclach, and 7 miles north of Cromdale.
In the south-east of the parish, a part of
the estate of Altyre, viz., Phorp, Brylac, Dallas-
brachtie, &c., lie in the face of the ridge of hills
towards Strathspey. Westward on the river
is Sluie, pertaining to James Cummine (grandson
of Mr. David Cummine, minister at Edinkillie) of
the family of Relucas. Above which, on the
river, is Logie, the heritage of Eobert Cummine,
a branch of the House of Altyre.
Next up the river, and south of Duvie-waterr
which here falleth into the river, is Eelucas,
the heritage of Dr. Patrick Cummine, minister
at Edinburgh, whose family have enjoyed that
estate for several generations.
In the south end of the parish, on a brook
called Dava, are the lands of Knock, Tombain,
Kerraw, &c., the property of the Earl of Moray.
On the west side of the river Erne, the parish
runneth north to the gates of Tarnua Castlo.
The lands of Dunduff, in this parish, were the
heritage of William Falconer, son of Alexander of
Halkerton and Leithin, and father of Colin,
Bishop of Moray ; but now all this part of
the parish is the property of the Earl of Moray,
and the whole parish was anciently a part of that
Earldom.
From Relucas to the S.E., on both sides of
TOWER OF DUNPHAIL CASTLE. 187
Duvie water, is the barony of Dunphail, which
was the heritage of Dunbar of Dunphail, de-
scended of Westfield, for near 250 years, and
about 1738 purchased by Colonel Ludovick
Grant, brother to Sir James Grant of Grant.
The Colonel dying in 1742, in the expedition
to Carthagena, the barony is now the property of
Sir James Grant.
[Helen, 5th daughter of Sir Ludovick Grant, married Sir
Alex. Penrose Gordon Gumming of Altyre, and the estate
of Dunphail was purchased by Sir Alexander from Sir
James Grant, the above Lady Helen Grant's brother. On
the death of Sir Alexander, in 1806, the estate was willed
to his second son, Major Gumming, who married Mary
Bruce of Kinnaird (a grand-daughter of Bruce, the Abys-
sinian traveller), when he assumed the surname of Bruce.
The Old Tower of Dunphail Castle stands on an isol-
ated rock or conical hill beyond the Kirk of Edinkillie,
6| miles south of Forres. It withstood a siege by Ran-
dolph, Earl of Moray, after the Battle of the Standard.
The modern mansion, in the Venetian style of Architec--
ture, from plans by Playfair, was built in 1829.1 (ED.)
EDINKILLIE.
[Situation, Soil, Climate. — This parish extends west-
ward 12 miles from the borders of Dollas and Rafford, and
as far southerly from the confines of Forres. It lies
partly along the bottom, and upon the side of the moun-
tain, which has been described as ranging along the
champaign of Moray ; from which circumstance its Scots
name is Brea-Mway, that is, the acclivity of Moray.
Its ancient Gaelic appellation, AODINCOILIE, signifies the
face of the wood ; and a charter from King David Bruce,
another towards the end of the 15th century, and the
great quantities of oak, fir, and other kinds of timber,
still dug from the tracks of peat soil, concur to show that
the whole face of the country was covered with wood.
It then contained two royal forests — Di ummynde, that is.
the venison hill, now destitute of wood, and Darnway,
188 CUMMING OF LOGIE; GUMMING OF RELUCAS.
still covering almost 1000 acres. The river Findern
Divides the parish for some miles, and two of its most con-
siderable branches have the whole of their courses within
its extent — the Duvie, that is, the black water, descending
from the hills which border upon Cromdale, meets a little
below the Church with the Durbach, discharged from the
lake of Lochnadorb, on the western boundary of the
parish. These rivers are supposed by their rapidity to
purify the air, which is healthful, never tainted by
noxious fogs, or pernicious exhalations. The soil of the
lower parts near the rivers is sandy, of a light dry
quality, and fertile when properly managed ; but a great
proportion is moorish, and extensive moors remain to
be improved.
State of Property. — The parish appertains to four pro-
prietors. In a beautiful wooded dale, on the southern
bank of the Findern, is the family seat of Robert Cuming
of Logie, Esq., a large modern handsome house of four
storeys, with an elegant pavilion roof. To the extensive
garden which his ancestors had formed he has added an
orchard of 4 acres, sheltered by groves of forest trees, and
a winding bank, from every adverse blast. A number of
ash trees have shot up to the height of almost 100
feet, but the fruit trees stand open to the reverberated
power of the southern sun, and in general the crop is
plentiful. The estate is embellished by plantations and
natural wood to a considerable extent. Its valued rent
is £239 15s. lOd. Scots.
A little higher up upon the Divie is llelucas, the seat of
George Cuming, Esq., Writer to the Signet. The house is
•elegant, embellished by enclosures, plantations, and many
well-disposed groves, equal in whole to 200 acres, among
which are intermingled more than 60,000 thriving oaks.
Many enchanting walks have been also formed along the
winding banks both of the Duvie and Findern, which
unite their streams a little below the house. The valued
rent is £194 9s. 8d.
There is also some natural wood, and a full-grown
plantation of fir of considerable extent, upon the barony
of Dumphail, which, with the lands of Phorp, Edinkillie,
Tulliglens, and Dallasbraughty, appertain to Colonel
Alexander Penrose Cuming of Altyr and Gordonstown,
amounting to the valuation of £679 9s. 2d.
1)1?. DUNCAN GUMMING OF BELUGAS. 18J)
The rest of the parish is the property of the Earl of
Moray. In the higher district, the lands of Brea-Moray
extend from the sources of the Duvie to the banks of
Lochnadorb, upon a part of which Mr. Forbes of Culloden
holds a lease, and has built handsome hunting quarters.
In the lower district of the parish, where its boundary is
formed by a brook winding through the gardens, and
purling under the Castle of Darnaway, the forest extends
more than 5 miles, mostly on the northern bank of the
Findern. exhibiting a vast extent of oak, ash, elm, and
venerable fir, blended with the distinguished form of the
weeping birch, in countless multitude, and the bole of
many more than 8 feet in circumference. His Lordship's
valued rent in this parish of £831 13s. 4d. makes its total
valuation equal to £1945 8s. Scots. The farms are of
small extent, from £3 to £10, a few rising to the rent of
£20. The arable laud may be estimated at the mean
rent of 15s. the acre.
State Ecclesiastical. — The Church is in a central situa-
tion, on the banks of the Duvie, which tumbles through
a deep rocky channel under the Manse, in a steep bank of
which, inaccessible to cattle, a few aspin, birch, and geen
trees, have established themselves. The stipend, includ-
ing the allowance for the Communion, is £70 sterling, and
3 chalders of victual, the one half barley, the other oat-
meal. The glebe, which the incumbent has inclosed, is 8
acres, exclusive of a small garden. The right of patron-
age appertains to the family of Moray. The salary of
the parochial school was doubled in the year 1796, and
now amounts to the revenue of £11 2s. 2d. 8-12ths ster-
ling. With the fees of education, and the emoluments of
Session-Clerk, it is almost equal to £18 in the year.
Dr. Duncan Curning, of the family of Relucos, physician
to King William, at the Battle of the Boyne, settled
afterwards in Dublin, made a donation in the year 1714
to the Society for Christian Knowledge, with a recom-
mendation to establish therewith 3 schools in the parish
of his nativity. This donation of £261 13s. 7d. sterling,
at that time of no small account, is equal at present to the
maintenance of two schools — one established at Relucos,
retaining about 20 scholars, and the other in the forest of
Darnway, retaining about 30, which is also the mean
number attending the parochial school ; and a school-
190 THE DUN OF RELUGAS, PARISH OF EUINKILLIE.
mistress upon the estate of Logic retains about a dozen.
Though pretty numerous in winter, they fail greatly, on
account of tending the cattle, in the summer months.
The whole number who were entered in all the schools in
the course of the year 1796, amounted to 200.
The number of the poor on the roll is 33. The provi-
sion for their support, arising wholly from the contribu-
tions of the people, who themselves are far from opulent,
exceeds not £5 in the year. The number of the people,
by an accurate enumeration in 1793, amounted exactly
to 1312, all members of the National Church.
Miscellaneous Information. — In the upper part of the
parish the Gaelic language is much in use. About 50
years ago, half the public worship was performed in that
tongue ; and in the remaining parishes of this survey,
Dyke and Auldern excluded, until it reach to Knockando
and Aberlour, upon the banks of the Spey, that dialect
may be still accounted the mother tongue. The people,
though poor, are in general honest, and far from backward
in extending their charity. Their ideas respecting reli-
gion are rigidly Calvinistical.
The Dun or Doun of Relugas seems to have been a
place of defence more ancient than the ancient fortresses
of Lochnadorb and Dunphail. It is a conical hill. Round
a considerable part of its base, the rapid stream of Divie
occupies a deep rocky channel. The other part is guarded
by a ditch equally impassable, having the sides lined by a
strong rampart of stone, bearing in some parts the appear-
ance of vitrification. The summit, 220 feet of perpendi-
cular height above the river, is a level space of 60 by 20
yards. When the country was shrouded in wood, it must
have been concealed, and so far inaccessible as to have
been easily defended by a few. It is at present occupied
only as nursery ground.
Sir James Grant of Grant has lately formed a new road
from Grantown to Elgin, lessening the distance on the
whole about 6 miles. In the course of this road, passing
through the southern side of the parish tending to Plus-
carden, a circumstance was discovered, establishing the
formation of peat earth, from the natural dissolution of
wood. In cutting through a bed of this substance, about
2 feet from the surface, a matted layer of the roots of fir
trees was found to have grown upon an under bed of the
ORIGIN OF THE CUMMINGS OF RELUGAS. 191
same kind of soil, which being also thrown up, a second
tire of similar roots appeared, which had also grown upon
a third bed of the same substance, which derived its
original from the dissolution of the timber which grew
upon the natural soil, the roots of which in a similar form
remained in a firm sole of clay gravel, at the depth of
nearly nine feet from the surface.] (Survey of the
Province of Moray.}
THE FAMILY OF CUMMINE OF RYLUCAS OR RELUGAS.
It cannot be questioned that Cummine of
Belugas is descended of the family of Lord
Badenoch. It is said that they possessed the
lands of Presley, above 300 years ago; and
I think it probable that their ancestor was a
son of Curnmiue of Glenchernich, a direct branch
from Lord Badenoch. The lands of Belugas
were purchased by James Cummine of Presley,
son to William Cummine of Presley. This
James was father of a numerous family x who
were much and justly respected, and were firm
adherers to the religion and liberties of their
country, in the reigns of the Boyal Brothers.
James of Belugas was much esteemed in the
country of Moray. He was succeeded by his
eldest son, John Cummine of Belugas. His
second son, William, was Professor of Philo-
sophy in the University of Edinburgh. John,
the third son, was Minister of Aldearn, and
Dean of Moray, a man of great piety and bene-
volence. In the year 1681, he, with many more
of the clergy, subscribed the Test, with an expli-
cation ; but, upon reflection, he retracted, and
192 THE CUMMINGS OF HELUGAS.
demitted his charge in 1682 ; yet so much was;
he regarded that the Earl of Findlater, to whom
he was related, called him to the parish of
Cullen, where he lived undisturbed. David, the
4th son, was Minister of Edinkylie, a man of
such knowledge and prudence, that his house
was a little academy, in which the children
of the best families in the neighbourhood had
their education. Patrick, the 5th son, was
Minister of Ormieston ; and Duncan, the young-
est, was a Doctor of Medicine, and was Physi-
cian to King William's army at the Battle of the
Boyne in 1690. Afterwards he settled in Dublin,
where he died in 1724. So great was his desire
to propagate the knowledge of the Christian reli-
gion that he made a contribution in Ireland, of
which he himself gave .£100 St., and upon this
three schools were established in Edinkillie.
John was succeeded by his eldest son, James
Cummine of Relugas, who, by Jean, daughter
of Robert Cummine of Altyre, had two sons —
Robert, his heir, and John, a physician in Irvine.
Robert Cummine of Relugas, by Magdalene
Fraser, of the family of Kinkell, a cadet of the
house of Lovat, had two sons — Patrick, his heir,
and John. Robert was succeeded by his eldest
son, the Rev. Mr. Patrick Cummine of Relugas,
D.D., Regius Professor of Divinity and Ecclesi-
astical History in the University of Edinburgh,
and one of the Ministers of that city.
DR. PATRICK GUMMING AND SIR THOS. DICK LAUDER. 193
[He was leader of the General Assembly for 20 years.
He was three times Moderator — in 1749, 1752, and 1756.
He died on the 1st April, 1776, in the 81st year of his
age and 56th of his ministry. His eldest son, Robert,
succeeded him as Professor of Church History and Divinity,
in the University of Edinburgh. Dr. Cumin married
Jean Lauder, daughter of David Lauder, 3rd son of Sir
John Lauder of Fountainhall ; and besides Professor
Robert, above mentioned, and another son, had Patrick,
Professor of Oriental Languages in the University of
Glasgow, and George, a Writer to the Signet in Edin-
burgh. This younger son bought the estate of Relugas
from his father, who set about improving its bare, rugged,
and unpromising appearance, planted large tracts, and
made it romantic and attractive. He died in 1804, leav-
ing an only daughter, Charles Anne Cumin, who was
heiress of Relugas, and married her 3rd cousin, Sir
Thomas Dick Lauder, Bart, of Grange and Fountainhall,
author of "The Moray Floods in 1829," " The Wolf of
Badenoch," " Lochindorb," &c. In 1847 the estate was
sold to Wm. M'Killigan of Ceylon, and at his death in
1852, it was purchased by the present proprietor, George
R. Smith, head of the firm of Smith, Payne & Smith,
bankers, London.
All that art, guided by good taste, could accomplish, in
embellishing and exposing to view the natural beauties of
the estate, has been done for it. Part of the former abode
remains, bearing the date ] 785. In 1865 the proprietor
erected, near Randolphis Bridge, on the banks of the
Findhorn, a tablet with a Latin inscription, in gratitude
to Major C. L. Gumming Bruce of Dunphail, M.P., for
having designed the romantic walks through the woods
and rocks along the hitherto almost inaccessible banks
of the Findhorn. Graphic and exciting details of the
devastation on the Relugas property are given at Chap.
VII., Account of the Great Floods of August, 1829. '(ED.)
THE FAMILY OF GUMMING OF LOGIE.
[Robert Gumming, the 12th Baron of Altyre, by his
wife, Isobel Innes, daughter of Sir Robert Innes of Bal-
venie, had two sons — Robert, his successor in the estate
of Altyre ; and John, the first of this family.
1. John Gumming, second son of Robert Gumming of
VOL. II. 13
194 THE FAMILY OF CUMMING OF LOGIE.
Altyre, obtained from his brother, Robert, the lands of
Pittyveach, in the parish of Mortlach, which he after-
wards sold, and purchased the estate of Logie, in the
parish of Edinkillie. He was a Major in the British
army, and a Commissioner of Supply for the county
of Elgin in 1678 and 1685. He married Barbara, a
daughter of Gumming of Birness, by whom he had three
sons and three daughters, viz. — 1, Robert, his heir ; 2,
William, who was a Minister of the Church of England,
and had a benefice in that country (he married there, and
had a son, William, a doctor of medicine) ; 3, David, died
unmarried. First daughter, Jane, married to William
Sutherland of Rosehaugh ; second, Barbara, died without
issue ; third, a daughter, married to Robert Innes of Mun-
dole. He was succeeded by his eldest son,
2. Robert Gumming of Logie, who married Margaret,
daughter of Andrew Leslie of Glen of Rothes and Bogs,
by whom he had three sons — 1, Alexander, his heir ; 2,
James, died unmarried ; 3, William, who married, and
had issue.
3. Alexander Gumming of Logie succeeded his father.
He married — first, Lucy, daughter of D unbar of Burgie,
by whom he had no surviving issue ; second, Grace, eldest
daughter of James Grant of Rothiemurchus, by whom he
had one son, Robert, and several daughters. The eldest
daughter was married to John Rose of Holme.
4. Robert Gumming of Logie, only son of the preceding.
He married Leslie Baillie, daughter of Robert Baillie of
Mayville, an Ayrshire proprietor. Her beauty and
accomplishments have been immortalised by Robert
Burns. By her he had five sons and one daughter — ] ,
Alexander, his heir ; 2, Robert, an officer in India ; 3,
George, doctor of medicine in India ; 4, John, Lieutenant-
Colonel in the East India Company's service ; 5, William,
doctor of medicine; daughter, Anne, married — first to
Capt. Eraser, and second, to Sir James Cox, M.D. Mr.
Cumming's five sons all went to India, and most of them
died there at an early age. The only survivor of the sons
is Dr. William Gumming, who resides in Edinburgh, is an
accomplished scholar, and the author of several literary
works. Mrs. Gumming long survived her husband, and
was much esteemed for her benevolence of character,
kindness of disposition, and agreeable manners.
ARDCLACH PARISH. 195
5. Alexander Gumming of Logie, who went to India,
married Louisa, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Martin
White, Commandant in Bengal, and had three daughters,
among whom were Leslie and Emily Frances. He died
at an early age. His eldest daughter succeeded. She
was accidentally burnt to death, in consequence of her
dress taking fire. She was succeeded by her sister,
Emily Frances.
6. Emily Frances, married to Captain Valiant Gum-
ming, younger son of Sir Thomas Valiant, who, on his
marriage, assumed the name of Gumming, and by whom
she has issue. Her husband died at Bath in the year
1866, from the effects of an accident, having been acci-
dentally thrown from his carriage.
Logie House is in the old Baronial style of architecture,
and has been greatly enlarged some years ago.] (ED.)
Next is
THE PARISH OF AEDCLACH,
I.e., a stony high ground, on both sides of the
river. The Church standeth on the south-west
bank of the river, 3 miles south-west of Edinkillie,
9 miles south-east of Moy, and 5 miles east of
C alder. On the east side of the river are the
lands of Ardrie, Logie, Femes, and Aitnach,
pertaining to Hugh Kose of Kilravock ; and above
these is Dunern, the property of the family of
Brodie of Lethin. Close by the Church of Edin-
killie, on the opposite side of the brook, is Glen-
ernie, a small feu possessed for several generations
by a branch of the Erasers, descended of Hugh,
laird of Beaufort, who died anno 1450. In 1526,
Dallasbrachtie, Craigroy, Glenernie [Note, these
now belong to Altyre], Ardrie, and Logiegown,
were the feu-property of James Dunbar of Cunzie
196 THE PARISH OF ARDCLACH.
and Kilbuyack (pen. Cald.). Mr. James Grant
of Ardnellie, son of Duncan Grant of Grant,
purchased Logie and Arderie ; and his son, John
of Logie, having purchased Moyness, his ' brother
William had Logie, from whose heirs it came to
Kilravock. The lands of Femes and Aitnach were
sold by Bishop Patrick Hepburn to John Wood
of Tilliderie, who disponed them to Kilravock.
On the west side of the river, and close by it,
is Daltulick and Culmonie, purchased from Bishop
Hepburn in 1545, and ratified by the Pope's bull
in 1548. At Culmonie, Kilravock has built a
neat summer-house, and adorned the place with
planting and enclosures. North-west is the
barony of Bellivat and Middle Fleenes, which,
for several generations, were the heritage of Rose
of Bellivat (afterwards Blackballs), and about the
year 1605 were sold to Falconer of Lethin, and
they are now the property of Brodie of Lethin,
and so are the lands above Culmonie, on the side
of the river, above three miles. These were a
part of the estate of Lethin (Vid. Aldern. Par.).
The lands of Keppernack and Boath, in the
south-west end of the parish, and Benhir in the
Streins, are the property of John Campbell of
Calder. Anno 1236, regni Alexander II. 22°
Alexander de Horstrot obtained a charter of
Boath and Benchir (pen. Gald.), and from him
the Thane of Calder purchased it. In 1568,
Fleenes and Keppernach was the property of Mr.
THE STREENS; SCULPTURED STONE NEAR FARNESS. 107
Alexander Campbell, son of Sir John Campbell
of Calder, sold to Sir John 25th June, 1545, by
Patrick Hepburn, Bishop of Moray (pen. Cold.}.
And Alexander's great-grandson, John Campbell
of Moy, sold these lands to John Hay of Lochloy,
anno 1665, who disponed them to Sir Hugh
Campbell of Calder, anno 1669 (Ibid.) Two
miles above the Church is the Bridge of Doulasie
[Dulsie], and for 4 miles farther the strath or
valley is very narrow, enclosed with high hills,
and called the Streins [or Streens, from the sides
of which are precipitous mountains of granite],
consisting of three davachs of land, the lower in
Ardclach, the middle in Calder, and the upper in
Moy parish, all the property of John Campbell
of Calder.
[The Streens have been made accessible to carriages by
i\ road formed by Lord Cawdor for the use of his tenants,
and which, proceeding from the village of Cawdor is
about 9 miles long.
About a mile below Dulsie, a beautiful sequestered
holm, adjoining the house and policies of Farness (Dougall),
greets the traveller, enriched with terraced banks and
birchen bowers, and in the centre of it rises a small Cairn,
with an ancient sculptured Tablet, about 8 feet high and
4 feet broad, standing at one end of it, and having a rude
Cross and many runic knots discernible. Tradition calls
it the Stone of memorial of a Celtic princess who was
drowned in the adjoining river while attempting to ford
it on horseback with her lover, a Dane. More likely it
was the Cross of an early Christian hermit.] (ED.)
198 THE LOCH OP MOY; MOYHALL ; CHURCH-LANDS.
This leads me to
THE PAEISH OF MOY.
The united parish of Moy and Dalarasie [Dala-
rossie, or Dalfergussie.] Moy, from the Irish
Mayhj signifies a meadow or plain; and Dale-
Fergusie is Fergus's valley. This parish stretcheth
on both sides of the river about 15 miles, and is
strictly called Strathearn [or Stratlidearn,~\ a part
of the ancient Earldom of Moray. On the south
west of the river, above the Streins, the Davach
of Moy jutteth north west among the hills above
2 miles, in the middle of which is the Loch of
Moy, a mile long, and a half mile broad. Here,
in an island, the Lairds of Macintosh had a
house, as yet entire, where they resided in times
of trouble. Now they have Moyhall, a good
house and convenient summer-seat, at the west
end of the loch. So rich is the loch of delicious
red-bellied trouts, called Red-wames, that I have
seen near 200 taken with one draught of a small
net. The lands of Moy were purchased from the
Bishop of Moray : and Macintosh took a new
right from Bishop Hepburn in October, 1545 (in
the possession of the family of Macintosh).
Above Moy, on that side of the river, are Toma-
tin, pertaining to a gentleman of the name of
MacQueen ; Free or Forest, belonging to Macin-
tosh of Holm ; and the lands of Kylachie (all
holding of the Earl of Moray), the property of
PROPERTIES IN THE PARISH OF MOY. 199
Alexander Macintosh of London, merchant, the
9th in descent of the family of Kylachie. Above
Kylachie is Invermasran, the property of Kilra-
vock, from the year 1460.
On the north east of the river, in the lower
end of the parish is Pollochack, the property of
MacQueen of that place. Next up the river is
Corebruch, the heritage of Macintosh of Core-
bruch ; above which is Corebruch MacQueen, the
property of Donald MacQueen, chief of that
branch of the Clanchattan. Some miles further
up is Delmigvie. This was a part of the estate
of Westfield, given by Sir Alexander Dunbar, to
his son David in 1495, disponed to Campbell of
Calder in 1608, and feued by him to Lachlan
Macintosh of Kylachie, in 1614, whose great
grandson, Donald Macintosh, now enjoyeth it.
Above Dalmigvie, on both sides of the river, is
the Davach of Sevin, which was a part of the
castle lands of Inverness (Vid. Milit. Hist), and
given by the Earl of Huntley, as a part of the
assythment for the murder of Macintosh in 1550r
and it is the property of Macintosh.
The Church of Moy standeth on the west
bank of the Loch of Moy, 3 miles south of
Deviot, and 9 miles south west of Ardclach.
[Moy Hall, at the head of the loch, is a plain modern
house of three storeys, with wings. The present occu-
pant, Capt. Grant, inherited it from his father, James
Murray Grant of Glenmorriston. It was indeed an hospit-
able hall, when Mr. Suter rescued several families in the
200 MOY HALL ; THE CURSE AND ROUT OF MOY.
terrific flood of 1829. It contains the sword of Viscount
Dundee — as also another given by Pope Leo X., to King
James V., and by him to the chief of the Clan Chattan.
In recounting the old clan fights as detailed by Sir
Robert Gordon — "the Curse of Moy," as preserved in
song — and the heroism of its lady and its blacksmith,
who saved Prince Charles in 1746 — the stranger will
have enough to muse on as he hastens by its low and
woody shores. Besides the main island, fortress, and
parterre, " where many a garden flower still grows wild,"
there is a small islet of loose stones (said to be artificial)
near the southern end of the lake, which formed the
chieftain's prison house. A handsome granite obelisk, 70
feet high, on a base of about 20 feet square, has been
erected on the largest island to the memory of Sir Eneas
Mackintosh, Bart., one of the last chiefs of the clan. On
the west side of Loch Moy, are the Church and Manse of
the parish ; and at the north end, Moy Hall, the principal
residence of the chief of Mackintosh, who has erected,
hard by, a small but convenient inn.
The story of the exploit of Lady Mackintosh, a daughter
of Farquharson of Invercauld, and the blacksmith just
alluded to, deserves repetition, as, comparing the means
with the end, an instance of almost unparalleled success
attending a very simple ruse. On the 16th March, 1746,
she received intelligence that Lord Loudon, having learned
that Prince Charles was to be entertained that night at
Moy Hall by the Lady, who was a staunch Jacobite,
though her husband, then absent, exerted himself on
behalf of Government, was on his way from Inverness
with a body of 1500 men, in hopes of capturing " the Pre-
tender " by surprise. Consulting with Donald Fraser,
blacksmith at Moybeg, a shrewd and enterprising man,
he, with five other men selected by her, proceeded in the
dusk of the evening to a small pass at the Hill of Craig-
an-Oin, at the boundary between the parishes of Moy
and Daviot. Here they ensconced themselves, at inter-
vals of some hundred yards, behind some heaps of peat
and turf set up to dry. On the approach of the troops, a
command was passed by Donald, and from man to man,
in a stentorian voice — " The Mackintoshes, Macgillivrays,
and Macbeans to form the centre, the Macdonalds on the
right, and the Frasers on the left." A few shots were also
GAELIC DERIVATIONS OF PLACES IN MOY. 201
fired, when a soldier of the advance guard was killed.
London's imagination, in the twilight, converted the peat
hags into armed men, and concluding that the Highland
army were drawn up to oppose him, he actually ordered
his men to the right about; and not content with making
them retrace their steps with all expedition to Inverness,
carried them across three arms of the sea all the way to
Sutherland. This affair, in which one man almost literally
put a thousand to flight, was aptly characterised as the
RoutofMoy.} (ED.)
MOY AND DALAROSSIE.
[Situation, Soil, Climate. — This parish, comprehending
the sources of the Findhorn, conjoins with Ardclach and
Calder on the south and south west. Its greatest length
along the course of the river is nearly 30 miles : its mean
breadth is about 5. The country is barren, bleak, and
mountainous. The cultivated ground, in narrow stripes
or small stripes on the banks of the river, exceeds not the
30th part of the parish. The principal source of the Find-
horn, at the distance of 50 miles from its termination, is
a copious stream, issuing from the fissure of a great rock
called "the Cloven Stone." The Gaelic name of the river is
the uisgern ; and, from the length of its course, between
high mountains in this parish, it is called Strathem :
-although, from a narrow pass towards Inverness, by
which, in the honest times of o\ir more godly ancestors,
inroads were made into the low country, and where a few
could stop pursuit, its ancient name was star-sach-na-gaul,
the threshold of the Highlanders. This pass was found
then so convenient for the more remote banditti of Bade-
noch and Strathspey, that, for the free use of it, they
agreed to pay the proprietor a tithe of the spoil. The
peculiar Gaelic epithet of this honourable acquirement
is impressively remembered, signifying "the collop of the
prey," which consisted chiefly in cattle. After the district
was cleared of wood, and partly cultivated, it obtained
the softer appellation of Moy, denoting the plain. The
greater part of the district under this appellation is a
valley, detached in a direction north west from the course
of the river, which itself stretches up towards the south
west. The modern name of the other district signifies
•" the valley of Fergus." The soil of the cultivated ground
202 PROPERTIES IN HOY AND DALAROSSIE.
is for the most part of a very good quality, but the climate
is much colder than that of the neighbouring parishes, and
the crops later. The snow in general begins to fall by the
middle of November, and frequently continues till March
or April ; but the inhabitants are healthy, and several
have attained nearly to the age of 90 years.
State of Property. — Moyhall, the family seat of ^Eneas
Mackintosh of Mackintosh, the chieftain of the clan, is
valued with the lands of Suffin at £674 13s. 4d. Dr.
James Mackintosh of Kylachy, the author of the Vindiciw
Gal. inherits Easter Banchar and Wester Strathnoon,
valued at £510 6s. 8d. William Mackintosh of Balnespie
has Easter Strathnoon and Muckle Corrybrugh, at £276
13s. 4d. Lachlan Mackintosh holds Raigmore, valued at
£90. William Mackintosh of Aberairder has Invermasron,
at £53 6s. 8d. John Mackintosh possesses Dalmigvie, at
£79 10s. Angus Mackintosh of Holm inherits Frae, at
£46 13s. 4d. Dugald Macqueen holds Pollockchak, at
£50: and Lachlan Macpherson has West Banchar, at £50 :
extending the whole valuation of the parish to the sum
of £2142 10s.
The real rent is about .£1000 sterling. Pasturage is
the important object. The farms, though of considerable
extent, are for the most part let from £o to £10 of rent :
their number is counted about 200. Besides the money
rent, each tenant is burdened with the payment of wed-
ders, fowls, eggs, and other articles, and much labour in
the digging and carriage of fuel, in reaping the corn, and
in carriages to and from distant parts of the country : all
which, though noway perceived in the revenue of the
proprietor, most effectually check the improvement of the
country, and mar all calculation of the value of land.
The shortness of the labouring season requires 246 ploughs,
each in general drawn by 4 horses, to which 2 oxen are
in some cases added. The number of horses is about 900,
black cattle, 1800, and sheep 12,000. The rents are paid,
and such necessaries as the farms do not produce, are pro-
vided by the yearly sale of part of the live stock.
State Ecclesiastical. — It has been already noticed, that
the Presbytery of Inverness was established a separate
judicature in the year 1708, into which, in the arrange-
ment of this undertaking, this parish falls to be the first.
Although Moy and Dalarossie in some respects are
OBELISK ON THE ISLET OF MOY. 203
unconnected, each having its own Church, they have been
under the charge of one pastor since Roman Catholic
times. The residence is in Moy, but part of the glebe is
9 miles distant, at the Church of Dalarossie. The stipend
is £69 14s. 2d. sterling. The right of patronage appertains
to the family of Kilravock. The salary of the school is
£8 6s. 8d., and £2 10s. as the fee of the Session-Clerk,
which, with the other emoluments, makes the whole
establishment about £20 yearly. The poor in general do
something for their own support : the annual fund raised,
as in the neighbouring parishes, is about £5 sterling.
Many depend on begging for their maintenance. There
are a few of the inhabitants of the Episcopalian persua-
sion ; but as the whole perform the duties of public wor-
ship in the Parish Church, they may be all accounted of
the National establishment : their number amounts to
1813 souls.
Miscellaneous Information. — In their sentiments the
people are extremely wedded to prejudice, and in their
manners to old custom. They may perhaps be religious;
but it is certain that in one case they preferred sacrifice
to mercy. The language, dress, and most of the peculiari-
ties of the ancient Highlanders continue without altera-
tion : their houses are of the same construction with those
of their predecessors for many generations, the fire-place
near the middle, and the family seated around it. In the
stormy season of winter, the severity of the weather
arrests all industry in the field : the care of their cattle is
.almost their only occupation. In the spring, their exer-
tions are great and unremitting till the seed time is over;
in the harvest, they are equally diligent in securing their
crop before the winter sets in ; and the great labour in
summer consists in providing the stock of fuel.
The Lake of Moy is somewhat more than a mile in
length, and rather less than one in breadth. It abounds
in char, and a variety of other trout of various size and
colour. Near its middle is an island, [There is a granite
Obelisk, 70 ft. high, erected on this islet to the memory
of the last of the chiefs — Sir Eneas Mackintosh, Bart.]
about 2 acres in extent, nearly in the shape of a violin :
on its southern end are the ruins of ancient buildings, of
considerable extent: the remains of a street, the whole
length of the island, and the foundations of houses on each
204 ANCIENT RUINS ON THE ISLET OF MOY.
side, are readily distinguishable. In the year 1762, two
ovens were discovered, each capable of baking 150 Ib.
avoirdupois of meal. In the year 1422 it contained a
garrison of 400 men, and here the chief of Mackintosh
resided, except during the winter, when the country was
inaccessible. The walls of a more modern building remain
pretty entire : an Inscription over the gate imports, that
it was built in 1655 by Lachlan, the 20th chieftain of the
clan. The garden, stocked with fruit trees and bushes,
is still in cultivation.
At the distance of several hundred yards, is another
small island, formed by the accumulation of common
rounded stone. It was the prison, when the punishment
of malefactors was vested in the Chiefs. The miserable
prisoner could scarcely stand with dry feet when the lake
was at the lowest; but in the season of rain, if the surface
was then no higher than now, the water rose nearly to
its middle ; but within the space of 24 hours he was con-
demned or set free,
Near the north end of the Lake, there is a chalybeate
spring, accounted medicinal for headaches and disorders
in the stomach. There is a considerable extent of natural
wood, chiefly birch and aller, upon the banks of the Find-
horn.] (Survey of ike Province of Moray.}
[Moy and Dalarassie (says Shaw) are united parishes.
The latter is probably the Church of " Dalgergussyn in
Stratherne," which Bishop Andrew confirmed to the
Church of the Holy Trinity of Elgin, about 1224-42 (Reg.
Epis. Morav. 71.) It stood near Moy, and under the
name of Tallaracie, it appears as one of the mensal
churches. The teinds of the parish of Moy were con-
firmed to the Church of the Pope in 1222, and the Church
" de Moy " (Theiner ) is rated at 8s. 9d. in the taxation of
1275. In the taxation of the diocese, about 1350, the
Prebend of Moy is rated at 10 merks. In 1574, George
Simson was " reidare at Moy," and the minister bore the
same sirname. Simson's predecessor in the Kirk of Moy
was Sir Wm. Sutherland (Sir being a title of courtesy
for Churchmen in old times) ; but Sutherland's profession
and practice of "morality" seems to have had little in
common ; for he not only " disobeyed " the charge of the
Commissioner of the Church who had ordained him to
SCULPTURED STONE FOUND AT THE CHURCH OF DYKE. 205
" marie the woman " with whom he had been cohabiting ;
but, " in despyte of the said Commissioner [he had] ryven
his letters of charge thereto."
In consequence of this disrespect to his brethren, and
his non-appearance at the bar of the Assembly, he was, in
1564, deprived of all ecclesiastical functions by the General
Assembly. (Book of the Universal Kirk, 51.)
The chief object of antiquarian interest in the united
parishes is probably the sculptured Stone which was found
by the workmen in digging the foundations of the present
Parish Church of Dyke. It exhibits what are known as
the Spectacle and Elephant figures; also a curiously
interlaced Cross and other carvings. It stands within
the Park of Brodie Castle, and is engraved in Stuart's
Sculptured Stones of Scotland, vol. 1., Plate xxii.
As stated before, the Churches of Dyke and Moy were
united in 1618. The latter stood near the north-west
corner of the Burial-ground, and in the vicinity of Moy
Hall. The Grave-yard is surrounded by fine specimens
of ash and plane trees.
EPITAPHS IN THE CHURCHYARD OF MOY.
Some tombstones lie upon the site of the Kirk; also
the nicely-dressed top of a lancet window, which had pro-
bably belonged to the old Church.
I. One of two Slabs, which exhibits the Campbell and
Morison arms impaled, is initialed M. I. C.: J. M.; and the
other (broken in two pieces), bears the Campbell and
Barclay arms, also the initials, M. I. C.: C. B.
The Stones had probably been upon the Burial-aisles
of the Campbells, who were lairds of Moy. Both Slabs
belong to the 17th century, and may refer to John
Campbell, Sheriff-Clerk of Aberdeen, and his grandfather,
to the latter of whom the former was served heir " in the
Eister tua parcialls of land callit the Kirklands of Moy,"
&c., April 27, 1654. On the 9th Aug., 1684, "Mr. John
Campbell of Moy and his wiffe were heir [at Brodie], and
his goodson, and daughter." (Brodie's Diary, 495.)
The Cawdor family were the first of the Campbells of
Moy; and, in 1527, Robert Campbell in Moy is a witness
to a bond betwixt Sir John Campbell of Cawdor and
Mr. M'Intosh of Clanchattan. (Thanes of Cawdor, p. 150.)
206 EPITAPHS IN MOY CHURCHYARD.
II. The property of Culbin was bought from the family
of Kinnaird by Alex. Duff of Drummuir, who gave it to
his second son, John, whose first wife was Miss Gordon of
Ellon. She died in 1728 ; and his second wife, Helen
Gordon (a daughter of Sir James Gordon of Park), died
in 1767.
The following Inscription (from a Slab upon the site of
the old Kirk of Moy), probably refers to a daughter by
the latter lady : —
Below this Stone lyes the Body of Helen Duff, Daughter' to
John Duff of Cubin, and Helen Gordon, his Spouse, who
departed this life the 26 November . . .
Baird of Auchmedden, in his Genealogical Memoirs of
the Duffs, says that " John Duff of Cowbin was a good,
friendly, honest man, but unhappily fell into acquaintance
with MacKay of Scoury and his brother, from the Shire
of Ross, who did not indeed deserve the name of gentle-
men. They got him engaged in a trade to North America,
and the honest gentleman was in a few years ruined, and
everybody was convinced that he had been egregiously
imposed upon by the MacKays."
III. The following Inscription preserves the name of a
laird of Grangehill (now Dalvey), which is not given in
the History of the Inneses: —
Here lyes a godly and most charitable woman, Agnis Innes,
Daughter to the Laird of Granghill, Married to Peter Dunbar
of Easter Bn, and four of ther children. Therafter to M.
Kobert Dunbar and four of ther children.
Rev. 14. 13, Blessed are the dead, &c.
And also the forsaid M. Robert Dunbar. 1707.
Peter Dunbar was served heir to his father, John
Dunbar of Binns, 17 June, 1693, in part of the lands of
Nether and Upper Binns, &c. It was about 1608 that
Mark Dunbar of Durris bought Grangehill from Lord
Dunfermline, who was Commendator of the Abbey of
Pluscardine, of which the Dunbars of Durris were herit-
able bailies.
IV. From a flat Slab :—
This Stone is placed here in memory of ROBERT RAIT,
burges of Forres, 1728, who died Nove. the 9th, 175 — , aged
70, and ELIZABETH SINCLAIR, his spouse, for a day in courts
EPITAPHS IN MOY CHURCHYARD. 207
is better than a thousand. I had rather be a door-keeper in
the house of the Lord my God than to dwell in tents of
wickedness. Memento Mori.
The next three Inscriptions are from Table-Stones : —
V. Erected by Susanna Blaik, relict of ROBERT BLUNTACH,
an elder of Dyke Session, in memory of her lamented husband,
and affectionate mother, JEAN WALKER, of Pitsligo Parish,
both heir buried under this stone, both aged 81 years.
John's Gos. xv. Ps. 103.
VI. This stone is placed here in memory of PETER COUPER
in Kintessack, and his spouse MARJORY GORDON, as also their
children, Margaret and Jean, who died in infancy. Marjory
Gordon dyed the 26 of May 1732, and Peter Couper dyed the
14 of April 1737.
G.C.: IF
Blessed are the dead, &c.
VII. This stone is erected here by Wm. M'Kay, merchant,
Nairn, in memory of his grandfather, John, and his father, Alex.
M'Kay, who died August the 21st, 1780, aged 31 years; as also
William M'Kay, his uncle, who left few such behind him, who
died Feb. 3, 1799, aged 61 years, honoured in his humble
station, to be eminently useful. His praise was in the Gospel.
His reward is with God.
VIII. The following is the oldest of several Inscriptions
to a family named Suter : —
This stone is placed here by Alex. Suter, farmer in Mar-
casie, and Ann Squer, spouse to the said Alex. Suter, and in
memory of JOHN SUTER, his father, sometime tenant in Earn-
hill, who died Dec. 30, aged 47 years, and MARY DUNBAR,
his spouse.
These were ancestors of Mr. Suter, who rendered so
much valuable assistance to the cottagers in and about
the Broom of Moy during the great floods in August, 1829.
The hamlet of the Brown of Moy (? Magh, a plain),
consists of some picturesque dwellings, and is the landing-
place for one of "the ferry-cobbles" on the Findhorn.]
(Jemise's Epitaphs.)
Having travelled over the valley of Strathern,
I return to the coast to describe
208 BARONY OF CULBIN ; KINCORTH ; EASTER MOY.
DYKE PAEISH.
The parish of Dyke and Moy, which is 3 miles
in length and as much in breadth, is bounded by
the river to the east, by the sea to the north, by
Aldern parish to the west, and by the Forest of
Tarnua to the south.
The Church standeth near the centre, 2 miles
west of Forres, and 4 miles east of Aldearn. At
the mouth of the river is the barony of Caulbin,
the ancient inheritance of a branch of Moray of
Duffus. Giles, daughter and heiress of Moray of
Caulbin [Culbin], married Kinnaird of that ilk.
About the year 1705 the house, gardens, and a
great part of the lands, were quite covered with
sand blown from Mavieston hills, and the barony
was sold to Alexander Duff of Drummuir. Next
up the river is Kincorth, formerly pertaining to
Falconer of Lethin, and given by Alexander of
Lethin and Hawkerton to his natural son, Mr.
Samuel Falconer (father of Mr. William, minister
of Dyke), who sold it to Dunbar of Durn; and
Durn sold it, in 1758, to Sir Alexander Grant of
Dalvey. Farther up is Easter Moy. This was
purchased from the Earl of Eoss by Donald,
Thane of Calder, anno 1410 (in the possession of
the family of Calder). It was the heritage of a
branch of the family of Calder during six genera-
tions; and John Campbell of Moy sold it to Alex.
Dunbar, son of Westfield, whose son, Ludovick,
WESTER MOY; GRANGEHILLORDALVEY; TARNUA CASTLE. 209
disponed it to Alexander Duff of Drummuir, who
conveyed Moy and Caulbin to his second son,
John Duff, and from his creditors Major George
Grant made the purchase about 1732 ; upon whose
death in 1755, without issue, these lands came to
his nephew, Sir Ludowick Grant of Grant. Moy
holdeth of Calder. Next is Wester Moy, per-
taining to the late Archibald Dunbar of Dykeside,
Farther south is the barony of Grange Hill.
Here the Prior of Pluscarden had a Grangier, or
farm, and a cell of monks to manage it. With
the other lands of that Priory, it came to the
Earl of Dunfermline, who sold it to Mark Dunbar
of Durris about the year 1608, from whose de-
scendants Sir Alexander Grant of Dalvey pur-
chased the barony, anno 1740, and in his
charter changed the name Grangehill into Dal-
vey.
In the south end of the parish is Tarnua Castle
and Forest, the seat of the Earl of Moray. The
Castle is a large but irregular pile, built at different
times. The hall is a curious room, very large in
all dimensions, 80 feet long and 36 broad, and
built (or rather the foundation of it was laid for
a hunting-house) by Thomas Eandolph, Earl of
Moray. It standeth on a green mount, and the
great wood or forest close by it makes it a situa-
tion romantic and delightful. In ancient writs it
is called Tarnua; in Irish Taranich, probably
from Tar an or Tarnacli, i.e., thunder, because
VOL. ii. 14
210 BRODIE HOUSE; THE HILLS OF MAVIESTON.
there Jupiter Taranis might have been anciently
worshipped (See Ecdes. Hist.)
North from Tarnua is the harony of Brodie.
Brodie House, the seat of the family, is a large
and convenient old building. The improvements,
by enclosures, planting, avenues, vistas through
the adjacent wood, and a large pond, make it a
delightful seat.
A mile north-west, close by the firth, are two
small pyrarnidical mounts, called the Hills of
Mavieston, which, being quite stripped of all
sward or turf, and nothing but quick-sand re-
maining, are the sources from whence the sand
has covered much land in Culbin, Duffus, and
Gordonstoun.
DYKE.
[Situation, Soil, Climate. — The arrangement of the
parishes in the Presbytery of Forres makes a short excur-
sion southwards into the mountain, and returns back by
the west towards the shore of the Firth. The southern
quarter of the parish of Dyke borders on the northern
limits of the parish of Edinkielie, on the confines of the
forest of Darnway. From this it stretches eastward along
the River of Findern, and partly on the southern bank,
by the shifting of its course in former times. The old bar,
at its efflux appertaining to the parish of Kinloss, has
been already noticed. The Firth, however, may be re-
garded as its boundary for the space of 6 miles upon the
north, till it meets the parish of Auldearn, from which it
is separated by a brook, the Ellands Bourn, and the moors
called the Hardmoor and Broadshaw, which run across
the western limit of the county of Moray, bordering on
the county of Nairn, till it again joins the parish of Edin-
kielie at the south. The latitude, by an observation
taken lately at the shore, is 57° 36' 21" north.
The soil of the cultivated ground is for the greater part
DARNAWAY CASTLE; EARL RANDOLPH'S CHAIR. 211
a light fertile loam, generally incumbent on sand, and not
very retentive of moisture. In some places the sole is
sand, concreted by some mineral substance, water probably
surcharged by iron ore. In ploughing it is avoided, as
adverse to vegetation when mingled with the soil. The
whole superficies of the parish contains 21 square miles,
one half of which is a desert tract of drifting sand along
the shore. The land side of this tract is bounded by a
pretty high bank, which may be traced westward nearly
to Inverness, as if the sea had once flowed out to its
bottom, and which still seems in this quarter to have
limited the overspreading of the sand. An irregular tract
of sterile moor spreads along the margin of this bank, the
soil of which having been carried off in turf the naked
gravel remains, soliciting to be clothed by plantation, of
which at present it exhibits some hopeful specimens.
Three brooks unite near the Church, forming a consider-
able stream, which winds through the middle of the
country, nearly parallel to the river. The air is healthful
and dry, and the climate so genial that the more delicate
kinds of fruit, the apricot and peach, ripen on a wall in
the open air.
State of Property. — Darnaway, the Earl of Moray's seat
in this quarter of the kingdom, is an ancient and magnifi-
cent edifice, though built in different ages, and in divers
forms. The original fabric at the first consisted only of
one hall, 89 feet in length, and 35 in breadth. Its walls
rose nearly to the height of 32 feet — a range of vaults,
constructed for cellars on its floor, has lowered its internal
elevation to 20. Its roof of solid oak, similar to the
Guildhall of London and the Parliament House of Edin-
burgh, remaining unceiled, displays the strength of the
workmanship of the 14th century, for it was built by
Randolph, the Regent of Scotland in the minority of
David Bruce. Part of its original furniture yet remains.
Earl Randolph's chair of state, similar in workmanship
and form to the Coronation-chair of the monarchs of
Britain, 60 Ibs. weight of oak, decorated with no very
elegant carving, part of the coat armorial. Coeval with
the chair, the table also, of the same kind of timber,
remains. The modern fashion of folding down the leaves
upon the pillars was then unknown — a device more com-
plicated served the same purpose. From one end a leaf
212 BARNAWAT; BRODIE; SCULPTURED CROSS IN THE PARK.
may be drawn out equal to the length of the upper board,
which is a quadrangle, supported on 6 massive columns.
This hall was only intended for the temporary accommo-
dation of hunting quarters. Tradition relates that its
whole floor was deeply littered with green rushes, or
grass, at night ; and the Earl with all his suite reposed
thereon together. Numerous apartments have since been
added, several of them fitted up and furnished with all
the elegance of modern fashion. The Castle rises on a
green mount in the skirt of the forest. It commands a
very extensive and pleasant landscape, and its environs are
embellished by groves and gardens, and much ornamented
cultivation. Its name has been with some ingenuity in-
terpreted from the Gaelic to be Randolph's Mount, tor-
rannich, but as rwnmich in that language signifies fern,
and as that herb still maintains its place in vast quantity
over all the forest, its appellation seems rather more simpl}7
to denote the fern hill. The original name of the district
also was Fernway ; and it is also highly probable that the
Bridge of Rannoch, a little farther up in the forest, long
supposed to bear the proud title of its ancient lord, ought
also to be reduced to its more suitable relation to the
humble weed, overhanging the banks which it but art-
lessly conjoined. By the Cess-Book of the county the
valued rent of this domain within the parish is stated at
£913 13s. lOd. ; but of this the sum of £39 is apportioned
on lands in the parish of Edinkielie.
Northward from Darnaway is the seat of James Brodie
of Brodie, Esq., the residence of the family for 600 years.
The fabric is a great building, not modern, yet displaying
all the elegant accommodation of the present fashion. It
rises on a green lawn in a pretty extensive park. A little
lake, shaped into an artificial pond, is commanded by the
front ; a great extent of full-grown wood, in all the variety
of the forest, rises on every side; long straight avenues
stretch under its shade ; and square inclosures under the
best cultivation bask in its shelter.
[The present castellated Mansion has over the door the
initials of the present proprietor and his spouse, W.B. and
E.L.B., with the date 1846. The Brodie coat of arms are
on the right.
At the north end of the park stands a Stone, which was
brought here from the Churchyard of Dyke at the erection
*
GRANGEHILL; KINCORTH ; BINSNESS ; EASTER MOY. 213
of the present Parish Kirk. It is a parallelogram about
6 feet high, having an elaborately carved Cross, with some
rudely-sculptured animals, but no date nor inscription.
It is said to commemorate Rodney's victory over the
Count de Grasse.]
The valued rent in this parish is £1,263 6d. Scots.
Eastward is the ancient barony of Grangehill, originally
appertaining to the Priory of Pluscarden, where a detach-
ment of their brotherhood resided. Its name by a late
owner was changed into Dalvey, signifying in the Gaelic,
the Plain of Spey. It appertains to Captain Macleod.
Its valued rent extends to £1,174 15s. 8d. Northward is
the estate of Kincorth, the property of George Grant, Esq.,
embellished by a modern handsome manor-house. The
valuation amounts to £371 10s. 6d. Binsness, valued at
£195 8s. 7d., is said to have been lately acquired by Lord
Kinnaird, with the salmon fisheries both in the river and
in the salt water, valued at the yearly rent of £500
sterling. The rest of the parish appertains to Col. Hugh
Grant. The family seat at Moy is a magnificent modern
structure, embellished by gardens, groves, shrubbery, and
walks ; also a princely suite of farm offices, adorned by a
spire and public clock ; a highly cultivated Manor spreads
over the plain along the bank of the river. The valued
rent paying cess in the county of Moray amounts to
£1,755 17s. 5d. Scots, extending the valuation of the
parish to the sum of £5,674 6s. 6d. Scots. But the lands of
Easter Moy, amounting to the valued rent of £218 10s. 6d.,
are under the jurisdiction of the Sheriffdom of Nairn,
though distant from the borders of that county ; but
having been in the possession of the ancestors of Lord
Cawdor, when hereditary Sheriffs of Nairn, this portion
of the domain would have occasionally subjected their
haughty independence to the Court of the Sheriff of
Moray had not this accommodation to the prejudices of
the feudal times been devised. Many places, politically
insulated, on the same account, remain both in England
and in Scotland ; and the inconveniences which this occa-
sions in the administration of civil justice in its present
establishment have been hitherto wholly overlooked.
But this political evil becomes of no consideration
when one physical calamity in this parish, of ghastly
nature and enormous size, is taken into contemplation —
214 ASTOUNDING MOUNDS OF SAND AT CULBIN.
the astonishing superinduction of sand, by which the
fertile and populous barony of Culbin has been reduced
to a state of absolute and irremediable sterility. It pays
the land tax in the county of Moray, answering to its
valued rent of £913 18s. 4d. Scots. Though included in
Colonel Grant of Moy's valued rent, it is the property of
his nephew, Mr. Grant of Redcastle, whom it qualifies to
be elected to represent the county in Parliament.
Those astonishing mounds of sand, raised along the
whole coast of the parish, although no doubt produced by
the sea, and probably by its encroachments on the shores
nearer the head of the Firth, have not acquired their
form under the action of the water. They are not com-
posed of different strata, or beds, and they have no
mixture of pebbles, sea- weed, or shells; but they are
immense accumulations of pure washed white sand, of
the smallest texture, having their situation, bulk, and
form, determined only by the wind. The smallest par-
ticles, though the first that are suspended, are the last
which are deposited by the water, and thereby exposed
to the power of the wind, while pebbles, shells, and heavier
sand, remain upon the beach.
Extraordinary commotions, from various causes, have
been sometimes excited in the German Ocean. They
have been strongly felt upon the coast of Holland when
they had also risen high upon the whole length of our
eastern shore, from the banks of the Thames to the Pent-
land Firth. One striking example needs be only adduced.
By the commotion which the Lisbon earthquake in 1755
excited, although so far distant on the west and opposite
side of the island, a flock of sheep of this parish were
drowned in their cot, though far beyond the reach of any
ordinary tide.
The wide expanse of the Moray Firth, at its termina-
tion between the shore of Caithness and the coasts of
Aberdeen, opens the access to a heavier inundation from
the ocean, and the bold shore upon the northern side rolls
it large upon the Moray coast, which is uncommonly flat
to the westward of Burghead, as the vast swell from the
ocean is impelled along the contracting channel of the
Firth : and some dreadful commotion, both of the land
and water, it must have been, which amassed the ample
shore for such a ruinous accumulation.
THE EPOCH OF THE GOODWIN SANDS. 215
The time in which this dismal visitation first began has
almost escaped the notice of particular record ; yet general
history affords several intimations of storms and inunda-
tions, which might have been the remote cause of this
perpetual devastation.
It has been already noticed, that the inundation
which submerged the princely fortune of Earl Good-
win, on the coast of Kent, must have raised a dreadful
commotion in all the estuaries on the eastern side of the
island, and shaken the whole coast from the one end to
the other. The era of this desolation coincided with the
reign of Rufus in England, and Canmore in Scotland,
towards the end of the llth century. Dr. Trussler's
Chronology specifies the year 1100 as the epoch of the
Goodwin Sands. Fordun and Buchanan, it has been
already shown, mention inundations, and devastations by
sand, in this kingdom, alarmingly astonishing, about the
period for which Trussler marks for this similar visitation
upon the English shore. Respecting the year, Buchanan
is not particular, but speaks in general of the prodigies of
that age: but Boethius particularly conjoins the inunda-
tion with the year of Canmore's death, namely 1097,
within three years of the date which Trussler has set
down; and he expressly relates, that its ravages were
desolation on the coast of Moray, of which county, it is
obvious, the ideas of Buchanan were extremely indistinct.
" The death of Malcolm," says Boethius, " happened on
the ides of October, in the year of our redemption 1097,
and in the 37th year of his reign ; and in the same year
Albion was terrified by many most alarming prodigies.
Many villages, castles, towns, and extensive woods, both
in England and in Scotland, were overwhelmed by an
exundation of the German Ocean, by the weight of which
tempest, the lands of Gudowine, near the mouth of the
Thames, which we have formerly mentioned, wei*e over-
whelmed by sand ; and likewise the land of Moray in
Scotland was at that time desolated by the sea, castles
subverted from the foundation, some towns destroyed, and
the labours of men laid waste, by the discharge of sand
from the sea : monstrous thunders also roaring, horrible
and vast ! "
To this it may be added, that in the Scotichronicon, book
7th, chap. 50, Fordun mentions a Comet, to the influence
216 EARLY SAND INUNDATIONS IN MORAYSHIRE.
of which he ascribes the excesses of these waters. " The
order of the Trinity," says he, " was instituted in the year
1097. In that same year, the 41st of the Emperor Henry
IV. a Comet appeared in the west from the 1st of October :
the sowing of winter grain is prevented (aquarum nimia
inundatione) by excessive inundations of water, and a
failure of the crop ensues."
In the Advocates' Library, it is also said, the Records of
the Priory of Pluscarden, called the Red Book, are still
preserved ; in which it is recorded that the whole low
country of Moray was deluged by the sea in the year
1010. If there be an error by misplacing the two
middle numbers, this date accurately coincides with the
period about which Fordun, Boethius, Trussler, and even
Buchanan, have all so nearly agreed.
It must therefore be allowed, that inundations of the
most destructive magnitude did happen towards the close
of the eleventh century. What their effect upon the coast
of Dyke may have particularly been, lies beyond the reach
even of conjecture, farther than that they extended not so
far as the sand has now spread ; for even in the last cen-
tury, the northern quarter of the parish, including the
barony of Culbin, was distinguished as " the granary of
Moray." Cultivation, therefore, was long continued, and
it is likely that, when only a little sand had been deposited,
the fertilitjr of the ground would be thereby increased.
But this vast magazine, which, it is conjectured, the
waves may have produced, by washing off the cape which
gave the name to Inverness, and the promontory from
the point of Arderier, has been accumulated somehow into
the Mavistown hills, on the eastern borders of the parish
of Auldearn. From thence they began to drift over the
nearest fields of Culbin, in the tract of the south-west
wind ; and even the greater part of these singular mounds
themselves have migrated from Auldearn into Dyke, the
heavier sand, when moved by the gale, settling upon the
lee side. The encroachments have been every year gradu-
ally extended, the rents paid in victual proportionally
reduced, the tenants one after another, and the landlord,
with their families, mournfully expelled, and their habi-
tations and possessions covered up, it is supposed, to the
height of the trees of the gardens about the manor. The
desolation must have been completed prior to the year
MARCH-STONE ON ONE OF THE SAND HILLS. 217
1695, as by the narrative of the Act of Parliament then
made to prevent the pulling of bent, "the barony of
Oulbin, and house and yards therof, is quite ruined, and
overspread with sand." The farm of Earnhill, a corner of
the estate without the tract of the sand, accommodated
for some time the proprietor, which now alone remains,
scarcely yielding a rent of £80, of an estate which other-
wise, at this time, would have produced more than £1000.
Although little farther damage in this quarter needs be
apprehended, yet the whole body of the sand is uniformly
progressive from the west, being little affected by the
wind from any other quarter. About 20 years ago, a
March-stone was placed on one of the sand hills, about 40
feet in height, that it might be the more conspicuous ; and
it was then conjectured, that the stone would either bury
itself, by sinking in the hill, or that the hill would rise
over it. The stone however kept its place : the hill,
moving off, left it on the plain. That the sand is therefore
blown into the Bay of Findhorn in considerable quantities,
admits of no doubt, as part of it by every strong gale is
carried quite across the water : but whether it be borne
eastward by the tide, to be deposited on some other shore,
or only washed back again in perennial alternate succes-
sion upon its own coast, may be perhaps in another
century discovered.
The real rent of the parish, including that of the fisheries,
and the value of the grounds about the seats of the pro-
prietors, may be stated at £3000. The number of acres
under cultivation amounts to 2697, and the natural and
planted wood occupies 1191. There are several farms of
considerable extent, from £60 to upwards of £100 of rent ;
more than half the parish may be occupied in smaller
possessions, from £5 to £20 of rent. The average rent
upon the acre may be estimated at 18s.: but at the village
of Dyke, it is let at £2 the acre. The number of every
kind of horses may be 384; black cattle, 1047; sheep,
1533, of the small white-faced breed; and there may at
times be about 40 hogs of swine : the particular numbers
however are by no means permanent.
State Ecclesiastical. — In the year 1618 the parishes of
Moy and Dyke were conjoined, and the residence and
Church then fixed at Dyke, a Gaelic word, signifying an
enclosure, also, an artificial course for a stream of water.
218 BEQUESTS TO THE PARISH OF DYKE.
The glebe at Moy is let by the incumbent to the pro-
prietor, at 6 bolls of barley ; and the burying-ground is
still in occupation. The Church was rebuilt in the year
1781, a handsome commodious structure, neatly finished
and furnished at the expense of £525, exclusive of the
carriage of the materials.
The value of the living, including the allowance for the
Communion, and £1 13s. 4d. paid for the pasturage which
the law annexes to the glebe, is £48 8s. 6d. sterling, 106
bolls 1 firlot barley, and 1\ bolls of oatmeal. The right
of patronage is divided between the Crown and the pro-
prietor of Moy.
The school is in the vicinity of the Church. The salary
is £2 15s. 6£d. and 16 bolls of bear, with the customary
fees from about 40 scholars, and £1 as the fee with the
perquisites of the office of Session-Clerk, makes the estab-
lishment equal to about £33 yearly.
John Anderson, Esq., Writer to the Signet, in the year
1702, bequeathed a capital for the establishment of a
school for girls, which, with an addition of £27 15s. 6d.
sterling from the proprietor of Brodie, who built the
school house of two storeys, and endowed it with a little
garden, makes the salary equal to £6 18s. lOd. sterling.
This appointment is under the charge of the proprietors
of the parish and the session : but the building is at pre-
sent fallen almost into a state of irreparable decay.
The number of poor amounts to 61. The provision
contributed by the people, chiefly at their meetings for
social worship, amounts to about £25 sterling yearly.
To this sum, the Rev. William Falconer, senior, proprietor
of Kincorth, and Minister of Dyke to the year 1674,
destined an annual allowance of 3 bolls bear, valued about
£2 14s. secured on the rent of a croft. Mr. Henry Vass
also, servant to Major Grant of Moy, destined the capital
of £100 sterling to 12 poor children. Mr. Vass also made
a donation to the infirmary hospitals of Edinburgh and
Aberdeen, in order to entitle the session to send patients
to either of these endowments.
The members of the Established Church are 1490; the
Dissenters, mostly of the Antiburgher sect of Secedersr
are 39.
Miscellaneous Information. — This parish is distin-
guished by affording the scene of the main spring of the
DISCOVERY OF OLD SILVER COINS. 219
drama of the tragedy of Macbeth. It was on the Hard-
moor, on the western side of the park of Brodie House,
where Macbeth and Banquo, returning victorious from an
expedition in the western isles to wait on King Duncan,
then in the Castle of Forres, and on a journey to Inverness,
are represented to have been saluted by the weird sister-
hood. It may be observed that by introducing Hecate, and
blending an heathen with a Christian superstition, Shak-
speare shows that he himself had no belief in either ; that
he considered King James's book on Deraonology, re-
printed about that time at London, as sillily absurd; and
those Acts of Parliament which condemned poor old
women to be burnt to death for working miracles, as
abominably cruel, and desperately wicked.
In digging out the foundation for the Church, an
earthen pot, with silver coins to the value in bullion of
.£46 sterling, was found. By Anderson's Numisrnata
Scotise, they were discovered to be 4d. pieces ; they were
all of equal size, and very fine silver, larger than a six-
pence, but very thin. They had been stamped in different
places both in Scotland and England, in the contemporary
reigns of Henry II. and William the Lyon. Some of the
oldest, struck at Striviling, bore on one side RE VILLIAM,
the Gaelic for King William.
The people are decent, peaceful, and well affected to
the national religion and government : they are little
addicted either to a seafaring or military life : they live
poorly, that they may dress neatly ; but few attempt to
save money.
Grain is annually disposed of in considerable quantities,,
oats chiefly and barley, sometimes wheat. Old oxen and
dry cows are sold off for the English graziers. When young
oxen and milch cows can be sent to market, they always
sell at a great price. The spinning of flax, formerly of
great consideration, may still bring into the parish about
£300 yearly. The management of the salmon has been
already noticed in the trade of Findhorn. A kit gene-
rally contains 3 salmon, about 10 Ib. each. Considerable
quantities of cod fish are caught by the boats of Findhorn
and Nairn, more abundantly at that season which doe&
not admit of their being dried in the open air. A quan-
tity was cured in barrels like salted salmon, and tried,
from this parish, in the London market ; the sale was not
220 PARISH OF DYKE.
such as to encourage the continuance of the trade. It
has been suggested, that if they were boiled in vinegar,
like kitted salmon, they might find a brisker market.
A considerable number of seals frequent the coast. One
man killed 130 in a year; the oil and skin of each brought
4s. This fishery is an object of the greater importance,
because the seal both prey upon the salmon and frighten
them off the coast.
A market of wood has been lately established. One of
the proprietors has disposed of a plantation to be felled
in 7 years, at the rate of £100 yearly ; and the ground is
to be again planted as soon as the whole is cleared. He
has a similar plantation in equal forwardness, and several
rising in succession. The larger allers are employed in
the construction of boats and small vessels : birch is made
up into the cheapest kinds of agricultural utensils : the
ash, the elm, beech, and plane, with a few oaks, that can
be spared, are shipped off at Findhorn : and the fir, manu-
factured into deals, and timber for the roofing of houses,
begins to find its way to the same port.] (Survey of the
Province of Moray.)
CULBIN.
[Most persons on going from Elgin to Forres, either by
rail or by the public road, have their attention generally
attracted to an immense number of large, bare sand-hills
lying away down on the shore of the Moray Firth.
These are the sand-hills of Culbin. When seen from any
point along either of the lines which we have indicated
they present a dreary and sterile aspect, and one is ready
to conclude, without making a nearer approach to them,
that they must form, altogether, a scene of extreme
dreariness and desolation. A distant view of them, how-
ever, gives but a very faint idea of their great magnitude,
or of the immense extent of ground which they occupy.
It is only when you have entered among them and
traversed the length and breadth of the ground which
they cover, and climbed to their summits, that a know-
ledge of their true character is obtained.
Many of the mounds are 120 feet in height, and measure
along the base 440 yards in length and 220 in breadth.
The sand is scarcely ever at rest, and hills of sand, 100
feet in height, are frequently found to change their
JOHN MARTIN'S PAPER ON CULBIN SANDS. 221
appearance altogether in a single night. The changes are
very rapid if there be any westerly winds.
The shifting nature of the sand may be understood
from the following circumstances : — In the heydays of
smuggling, a foreign vessel visited the coast, and, during
the night, landed a valuable cargo of contraband goods on
the back shore. As the owners had not at the time the
means of conveying them to their destination, it was
resolved to stow them away under the slope of one of the
great sand-hills until the party had time to collect their
forces. This was successfully accomplished. Unfortu-
nately for them, a strong westerly wind sprung up in the
night time, and continued without the least abatement
during part of the following day. On the evening of
that day the owners returned, accompanied by a number
of carts, never for a moment imagining that there could
be the smallest difficulty in finding the goods. Whether
they found the exact sand-hill in which the goods had
been deposited has never been ascertained ; but when the
men reached the slope where they thought they had
placed them, they felt themselves in a complete quandary.
The goods were to be found nowhere. A few men had
been sent there, hours before, to have matters arranged ;
but they had traversed the ground again and again, and
even trenched the sand in numerous places, and still not
a single trace of them could be seen. So bewildered were
the men on account of the sand having shifted and oblit-
erated every mark of their movements on the previous
night, that it became a question among them which of
the sand-hills contained the missing treasure. When the
circumstance became generally known, the carters, and
others connected with the affair, bestirred themselves,
and spread about in all directions in search of the goods.
As an encouragement to them, the moon shone brightly
and made every object visible for a great way around.
At this time men were seen everywhere searching for the
lost treasure. Some were probing the sand with their
whip-shafts, others were busily sounding its depth with
their hands, while not a few, with spade and shovel, were
casting deep trenches in the sides of the sand-hills. The
whole night was spent in the search, and after night the
day, and many succeeding days, but it proved all labour
in vain. The valuable cargo of brandy and tobacco lay
222 MARTIN'S PERSONAL INSPECTION OF CULBIN SANDS.
snugly under some deep sand-drift, and up to the present
time not the slightest trace of either has been seen.
On my first visit to the sand-hills of Culbin the weather
was very mild, and of course, down there, exceedingly close
and warm. On hearing from the people of the district of
the extraordinary appearance which these hills presented
during a westerly gale, I felt most anxious to see them in
their wildest aspect. Fortunately, on the day on which
a strong westerly gale prevailed, I had an opportunity of
visiting them. On entering among them the wind was
tremendous, and as it came rushing down through the
openings between the hills, carrying with it immense
torrents of sand, its force and violence were almost over-
powering. Clouds of sand were also continually falling
from the tops of the mounds, and whirling about in the
wildest confusion. Nothing could be seen but sand above,
and sand below, and sand everywhere. The place soon
became very uncomfortable, and after having passed
about an hour, groping my way along the base of the
great sand hills, I deemed it prudent to return, lest I
should get bewildered.
On my return through one of those gorges or openings
to which I have already alluded, I felt the wind much
fiercer than when I passed. The sand seemed to come in
waves, which had a sensible weight, and the force with
which they were driven made it somewhat difficult to
withstand them. I was more than once like to be carried
off my feet. On approaching the last great sand-hill,
nearest Kincorth, the wind poured down through the
hollow as if it had been blowing through a funnel. The
quantity of sand drifted along must have been immense.
I caught it in handfuls as it passed. When nearing the
gorge the wind had acquired a rotatory motion, and the
sand, following the movement, drifted about and lashed
me at times with some severity, as if it were done inten-
tionally and for a purpose. When under the lee of the
hill the force of the wind was a good deal broken, but the
sand came pouring down in torrents, and sometimes in
masses, from the heights above. These, by being again
broken and whirled about in all directions, had a most
bewildering effect. Moving onwards, with my eyes shut,
like one blindfold — for no man in his sober senses would
venture to open his eyes at such a time unless he wished
VIOLENCE OF THE CULBIN SAND-DRIFTS. 223
to have them sacrificed — I expected that the worst would
soon be past, and that I should be able to grope my way
at leisure out of this horrible place, but the moment I
got beyond the shelter of the sand-hill I was met by such
a powerful blast of wind that came sweeping round the
corner of the hill as seemed to be a work altogether
beyond the common operations of nature. So violent and
tormenting were these attacks that I could not help
thinking that the furies must have leagued together to
punish me for entering upon their domains. Whether
the furies took a part in the affair or not I am not pre-
pared to affirm, but, on coming out of that gorge, I felt as
if a dozen thongs were lashing me with great force round
the body, and I actually felt as if the points of them had
reached upwards and were twitching my face. Ropes of
sand are generally spoken of with a degree of contempt,
but really, when they operate like the thongs of Culbin,
they are not to be despised.
No sooner had I got beyond the fierce influence of the
sand-drift than I felt something about me which was
quite unaccountable, and which, for a time, made me
exceedingly uncomfortable, and even qualmish. I felt a
pressure and weight on my body which had the effect of
dragging me down and retarding my progress, as if the
power of gravitation had been increased tenfold. Certain
dubious thoughts flashed quickly across the mind, and
for a moment I stood like one petrified. At the same
time I felt a burst of perspiration starting from every
pore, and in less than a minute my whole body was
suffused with moisture. What is the meaning of this ?
was the question I put to myself; and while in the midst
of my perplexity I put my hand into my pocket in
search of my pocket handkerchief to wipe away the big
drops which trickled down my face, I found my pocket
crammed with sand. I tried another, it was equally
filled. Every pocket about me was filled with sand, and
my clothes were completely saturated with it, and my
shoes were like to burst, and my eyes, my ears, my nos-
trils, and my mouth were all partakers, more or less
of it. On moving about, I observed the minute particles
of sand pouring from my clothes as thick as when a
drizzling rain falls from a summer cloud. In short, I
felt myself to be nearly altogether a man of sand.
224 ANCIENT FERTILE LANDS OF CULBIN.
The loneliness of the place is often extremely dis-
tressing. At other times one is filled with interest as you
notice the numerous examples of sand-ripple arranged in
all the order and regularity that you see displayed by
the sands on the shore.
Shingle beaches are found below the general level of
the sand — remains these of ancient sea-beaches. But
you will speedily see something else.
On leaving these beaches and crossing a ridge of sand,
you perceive, towards the east, a tract of low ground
stretching away between two large sand hills. Of course
you conclude that this is another series of sea-beaches,
and as you feel a desire to see in what respect they will
present themselves, you move down upon them, plodding
your way over a tract of recently drifted sand, in which
you sink to the knees at every step. When you reach
the edge of this piece of ground, you feel greatly sur-
prised. Instead of a series of sea-beaches, you see before
you a large tract of the old fertile lands of Culbin. For
some time you stand like a statue, quite absorbed with
reflections on the past. You look around and you see
the big ghostly sand hills towering upwards on either
side. What ruin ! What desolation! On this rich
loamy field the husbandman had no doubt driven his
team with a merry heart, sowed his seed, and in due time
reaped a plentiful harvest. The hearty laugh of the
reapers has been heard ringing merrily across this field ;
and wanton herds have fed luxuriantly on the rich herb-
age ; now, there is not so much as a single blade of grass
to be seen on any part of the ground.
The view is most extensive, ranging from Mealfour-
vonie, on the Ness, to the Binhill in Banffshire.
The estate of Culbin is invested with a melancholy
interest. About 200 years ago it was one of the richest
and most fertile districts in Moray. In the days of its
prosperity it was designated " the Granary of Moray," and
not unfrequently " the Girnal of Moray." This term was
applied to it, not merely on account of the great fertility
of the soil, but as indicating the delightfulness of the
climate, and the earliness of the crops, and the unfailing
resources of the district, even when there was a partial
failure in other parts of the country, occasioned by the
lateness of the harvest arid the setting in of early frosts.
CHURCH ON THE SITE OF THE CHAPEL HILL. 225
All the cultivated land on the estate was of a deep, rich,
alluvial soil, being the accumulation, for ages, of the
fine silt carried down the Findhorn in time of floods, and
spread over a wide extent of country, when it and the
neighbouring low lands formed the basin of a large
shallow bay. The lands of Moy, and of several other
fertile estates lying on either side of the river Findhorn,
consist of accumulations of this kind. The extent of
arable land on the estate of Culbin is difficult to be ascer-
tained at the present day. It contained a number of
small farms, besides the home farm, which was always
kept in the hands of the family. There were also many
small crofts occupied by families who derived great part
of their living by fishing. There was also an extensive
range of good pasture, extending both to the north and
west of the cultivated lands, before they were defaced by
the great sand drift. At one time the population must
have been very numerous, for there was a Church on the
borders of the estate, the site of which still goes by the
name of the " Chapel Hill." The comparative value of
the lands of Culbin may be known when it is stated that,
in 1654, its valued rental in the parish of Dyke was
£913 18s. 4d. Scots, while that of Darnaway, belonging
to the Earl of Moray, in the same parish, and which is
of great extent, was only £913 13s. lOd. Scots. It is
evident, from this statement, that the estate of Culbin
held a high rank amongst the properties of the country.
There can be little doubt that the great accumulation
of sand which overwhelmed Culbin, and covered an ex-
tensive district in its neighbourhood, was derived from
various parts along the shore of the Frith, when the old
coast line began to break up. On many parts of the
coast the sea has made extensive encroachments, espe-
cially between Burghead and Findhorn. Although
history is silent on the subject, there is a tradition
prevalent among the inhabitants of these villages that,
about 200 years ago, there was easy access, in a direct
line, along the shore from the one village to the other,
the distance being then about six miles. It is evident
that the sea, since that time, has made extensive en-
croachments upon the land; and, even within the remem-
brance of some of the old inhabitants of the place, there
have been great changes on the coast ; they have long
VOL. II. 15
226 THE SAND HILLS OF MAVIESTON.
remarked a visible wasting away of the land. At the
present time the coast-line between Burghead and Find-
horn is a great curve inland, and the distance along the
shore, between these villages, is now nearly doubled, or
about ten miles. The materials which the sea had to
work upon were extensive ranges of sea-beaches. To a
casual observer, these beaches have all the appearance of
being composed of shingle or water-worn stones ; but, in
most instances, the appearance is deceptive. When a
section is exposed by the action of the sea, they are seen
to have a thin covering of rounded stones, but the great
body of the beaches is a mass of fine sand, interstratified
here and there with thin layers of small pebbles. By
some peculiar tidal movement, very different from that
which affected the coast during the formation of these
beaches, the sea has been, for a long time, endeavouring
to recover part of its former domain. The sand, which
formed the greater proportion of these beaches, has been
gradually carried westward, and thrown up on various
parts of the shore between Findhorn and Nairn. These
new deposits, thrown up in the form of sand beaches, had
been seized upon by the strong westerly winds and
carried inland; and there can be no doubt that these
were, at first, the great feeders of the huge sand hills of
Mavieston, which lie some three or four miles west from
Culbin. By degrees the sand was drifted eastward, and,
in course of time, formed numerous mounds of immense
size and extent, and spread itself over a tract of country
fully eight miles in length, and, in some places, upwards
of two miles in breadth. The once beautiful and fertile
estate of Culbin is included in this tract. At the present
time it is altogether deeply covered with sand, from
which, according to appearances, there is little likelihood
that it ever will be free.
To all appearance there was little injury sustained by
the sand-drift westward of Culbin. All the way from
Mavieston the sand-hills are heaped up on ancient shingle
beaches. This is also the case with the tract of ground
lying between Culbin and the back shore on the north.
It is the same between the eastern boundary of Culbin
and the river Findhorn. Although there is no appear-
ance of any great extent of cultivated land having been
destroyed, either to the west or north of Culbin, it is
SAND-DRIFT IN KINLOSS, DUFFUS, AND ALVES. 227
evident that extensive ranges of good pasture had been
rendered wholly useless. In some places, towards the
west, there are extensive plains, fully a mile in length,
and about a quarter of a mile in breadth, lying between
one series of sea-beaches and another. These low
grounds must, at one time, have been covered with a
close herbage, for even now, when there is but a slight
covering of sand, various kinds of coarse grasses, and
several species of carices, are seen to spring up and make
great efforts to hold their place. In several of these
places a great number of Scotch firs have been planted,
and it is remarkable how healthy they look, and how
well they thrive, with the sand heaped up about them to
the height of two and three feet. Although these green
spots present little of the refreshing verdure which meets
the eye in the cultivated parts of the country, yet they
have a very pleasing appearance when seen amidst the
wide waste of sand, which bounds the view on every
side. They are like oases in the desert.
The injury was not wholly confined to the estate of
Culbin. About the time of Culbin sand-drift, there was
an extraordinary drifting of sand over most of the country
inland. In the parishes of Kinloss and Duffus, and over
the northern portion of the parish of Alves, sand is found
in considerable depths. It overlies in some places a deep
reddish clay, which is most favourable to vegetation.
On the estate of Inverugie the sand had covered the
old land to a great depth. This estate came into the
possession of the late William Young, Esq., a gentleman
of no common energy, and one of the most persevering
and enterprising men of the north. Although he de-
lighted to see good farming, and did his utmost to
encourage the cultivators of the soil and promote their
prosperity, yet the rich old spots of the earth presented
few attractions to him. He conceived that a man derived
little credit by raising rich crops on a soil that had been
under cultivation for centuries. Nothing afforded him
greater pleasure than to see the waste and unsightly
parts of the country improved and made useful. In this
respect he set an example to all around him, by selecting
the most worthless and forbidding piece of ground for his
experiments; and by the time he had done with it he
seldom failed to invest it with all the charms of a little
228 THE INVERUGIE ESTATE TRENCHED AS A TEST.
paradise. Mr. Young had not been long in possession of
Inverugie when he began to see that there was a treasure
concealed under the sand. He went to work with a will,
and with a spirit that never fagged; and notwithstanding
the great body of sand he had to work upon, he trenched
it to the extent of some hundred acres, and brought to
the surface a thick covering of the rich, old, black soil,
which had been lying in many places fully 8 feet under
the sand. The work was accomplished at an enormous
expense, but the result, in due time, was highly remunera-
tive, and soon became apparent on the different farms in
the well -filled stackyards and the luxuriant pastures.
It may not be uninteresting to mention that, while Mr.
Young was engaged in this great work, his friend, the
late Sir Thomas Dick Lauder of Relugas, conceiving this
to be a favourable opportunity for testing the vitality of
seeds after being long 'buried in the soil, procured a
quantity of the mould. This was in February, 1817.
After carefully tending the soil, which he had put in a
couple of flower-pot saucers, he had the pleasure of seeing
no fewer than 46 plants springing up in May of the same
year. In a short time he was able to identify four dif-
ferent species of plants. These were the mouse-ear
(Cerastium arvense), scorpion grass (Myosotis scorpi-
oides), purple archangel (Lamium purpureum), and the
corn spurrey (Spergula arvensis). It is curious that this
old soil, which had been lying inert for nearly two cen-
turies, should produce the same species of plants which
are troublesome, as weeds, to the cultivators of the soil at
the present day.
Soon after the overthrow of Culbin, another great
change took place in its neighbourhood. Formerly, the
river Findhorn swept round to the north of the lands of
Binsness, and thence flowed westward, about six miles, in
a course nearly parallel with the shore, before it entered
the Firth at the Old Bar. At the present time the river,
after passing the village of Findhorn, flows northwards,
and falls directly into the sea. It is supposed that this
change in the course of the river was caused by the great
quantity of sand drifted eastward from Culbin, and
which, in its progress, had accumulated in the bed of the
river. By this means a barrier was formed in the channel,
and the waters, having accumulated behind it, sought an
THE ESTATE AND MANSION-HOUSE OF CULBIN. 229
outlet at the lowest level, which happened to be in the
direction which it now holds. It may easily be conceived
how soon a rush of water would form a channel for itself,
when there was nothing in its way but a tract of loose
sand and shingle. About the same time the village of
Findhorn stood about a mile to the north-west of its
present site. It, too, was affected by the changes that
were then taking place. It had been for some time
threatened by the sea encroaching upon it on one side, and
the river on the other ; and one night, during a fearful
storm, the sea broke in upon it and swept it away.
Fortunately, the villagers were aware of its precarious
position, and left it in time, so that there was no loss of
human life.
An opinion has been long prevalent among the inhabi-
tants of the district, and indeed among many persons at
a distance, that the estate of Culbin, with the mansion-
house, and all the houses of the numerous tenantry, were
overwhelmed in one night. This opinion had no doubt
arisen from the circumstance that, after a most tremen-
dous night of sand-drift, a finishing stroke was given to
the great work of destruction, which had been going on
gradually for a number of years. Previously to that
time the mansion-house and several of the houses of the
tenantry were still inhabited, and portions of the land
were still under cultivation, but on that awful night
every person had to flee for safety. The relentless sand-
flood poured fiercely over houses and fields and gardens,
and when the poor houseless tenants returned in the
morning to look for their homes, nothing was to be seen
but a wide waste of sand. So bewildering was the sight,
that it became a subject of conjecture among them where
their former habitations lay.
The history of the family also affords some clear and
distinct notices of the gradual destruction of the estate.
It is on record that Alexander Kinnaird succeeded to the
estate, after it was much destroyed by the blowing of
sand. On July 17th, 1695, he petitioned Parliament to
be exempted from paying cess, " because his estate, which
20 years before was one of the most considerable in
Moray, was nearly all covered with sand, and the man-
sion-house and orchard destroyed." Two years after-
wards, this same Alexander applied to Parliament for a
230 HEAPS OF SEA SHELLS ON THE OLD SEA BEACHES.
personal protection from his creditors, on the ground that
three-parts of his estate were overrun with sand, and the
fourth part sold for payment of his creditors.
In many places throughout the district, where the sand
has been drifted away from the old sea-beaches, large
heaps of sea shells are to be seen lying upon the top of
them. They all belong to shell-fish of the edible kind,
and consist mostly of the oyster (Ostrea edulis}, cockle
(Cardium edule), mussel (Mytilus edulis), tapes (Tapes
decussata), rock Jenus (Tapes pultastrd), and buckie or
periwinkle (Littorina littorea). In early times the basin
of the Moray Frith must have afforded a favourable
habitat for the oyster. Their shells are found in great
abundance, not only in the neighbourhood of Culbin, but
in many other places both to the east and west of it ;
and it would appear, from the great collections of them
everywhere, that the people of the district had used them
largely. In many places their shells are heaped up,
layer above layer, to the depth of two and three feet.
Some great change must have taken place in the bed of
Frith, for the animal is now completely extirpated. Per-
haps it would not be erring greatly to ascribe their
destruction to the same causes which ultimately over-
whelmed the lands of Culbin. The great tidal movements
which had gradually broken up the old coast-line, carried
the sand westward. This sand was, no doubt, widely
and largely distributed over the basin of the Frith before
it was thrown up on the shore, and when it overspread
the firm, hard ground, which had been the favourite
haunt of the oyster, its destruction was inevitable.
It is generally supposed that these heaps of shells indi-
cate the places where human habitations had once stood,
before the district was overblown with sand. In most
instances the shells are intermixed with the ashes of
peat, and this gives some countenance to the supposition ;
but if there were houses here, every trace of them has
long since disappeared. However, there is a person now
living in the neighbourhood who remembers to have seen,
about 40 years ago, the walls and some other parts of a
house exposed by the wind blowing off the sand. The
walls of the house were formed entirely of a firm clay
turf, which had been very carefully cut and regularly
placed. A few wooden supports, very much decayed,
BARONIAL MANSION OF CULBIN BURIED IN SAND. 231
were still remaining. The floor was neatly causewayed
with rounded stones from the beach, and over this there
was a layer of clay about four inches in thickness. The
greater part of the materials had been worn away by the
wind beating upon it at some former time, the part of it
which remained entire had been preserved by its being
covered with sand.
It is said that many of the tenants on the estate of
Culbin lingered long in their old habitations, always
cherishing the hope that the sand would make no further
progress. So determined were they to keep possession
of their dwellings, that when the sand was heaped up in
front of their houses, they still managed, with great
labour, to clear an entrance ; but soon the accumulations
became too great to be cleared away, and at last every
way of access in front was completely blocked up. Not-
withstanding the threatening appearance of matters, they
still clung to their abodes, and broke out an entrance in
the back wall of their houses ; but even this was only of
temporary advantage, for the sand accumulated around
them with every wind and soon overtopped the houses,
and at length engulphed them in the common ruin.
Although the Mansion-house of Culbin has been for a
long time deeply buried under one of the large mounds,
yet portions of it have at times been fully exposed.
About 80 years ago there had been a furious drifting of
sand, which continued for several days in succession, and
which greatly altered the figure of many of the large
sand-hills. During this change a great part of the old
Mansion appeared, standing like a skeleton, apart from
the great mass of sand in which it had been long en-
tombed. It was firmly and substantially built, and con-
tained a number of finely dressed stones. While it lay
exposed it was used by the people in the neighbourhood
as a quarry, and many a fair building in the district now
possesses some of the good substantial stones that once
graced the old baronial Mansion of Culbin. If the
weather had continued favourable, there was every like-
lihood that all the materials of the Mansion would have
soon disappeared. Soon, however, another furious sand-
drift swept across the district, and the old House of
Culbin again disappeared. At a later time one of the
chimney-tops was seen peering, like a large march-stone,
232 ARROW-HEADS AND CELTS FOUND ON CULBIN.
above the sand. It remained visible for some time, and
many persons went to see it, but, during a night of severe
drifting, it disappeared. This seems to have been the
last sight obtained of any part of the House of Culbin.
It is also mentioned that, some considerable time after
the estate was destroyed, the branches of a cherry tree,
in full blossom, were seen standing out from the side of
one of the sand-hills, under which the garden and orchard
lay. It is also stated that an old man, who died about
20 years ago, and who lived to the age of 80, used to
relate that, in his younger days, he observed a thriving
branch of an apple tree protruding from the side of a
sand-hill. He visited the locality from time to time,
watching the progress of the branch, and, as it was a
favourable season, it budded and blossomed, and in due
time bore fruit, which he had the pleasure of gathering.
The fruit was of fair size, and most delicious in flavour.
The relics obtained from the old lands of Culbin belong
to a period too close at hand to be of much interest to
the antiquary. They consist of fragments of pottery,
bits of iron and brass, and stone -whorls of the old-
fashioned distaff. Persons in the neighbourhood state
that silver spoons have been found in the soil. Flint
arrow-heads and celts have been picked up in several
places along the tops of the ancient sea beaches, and in
one place, in the neighbourhood of some large heaps of
marine shells, a great many flint arrow-heads were found,
along with numerous fragments of the flinty substance,
leading to the supposition that arrow-heads had been
manufactured in this particular locality. In the same
place were found a few fragments of what seemed to have
been bracelets, very neatly cut, and made from black oak,
but these belong to a period much more remote than the
historic days of Culbin.
As reference has been often made to the Family of Cul-
bin, it may not be deemed unimportant to give a short
genealogical account of it, from the only authentic source
now extant. The family was of the ancient Moravienses,
and is descended from the great Flemish house of Fres-
kyn, who, by the powerful assistance it afforded to
William the Lion and his immediate successors, acquired
great possessions in the north of Scotland, from the chief
of which they assumed the local name of Moray. The
GENEALOGY OF THE FAMILY OF CULBIN. 233
descent of the Family may be traced from Egidix or Giles
Moray, daughter and heiress of Walter de Moravia de
Culbin, who married Thomas Kinnaird of Kinnaird about
1400, and whose successors took the name of Kinnaird.
Of this marriage there were two sons — Allan, ancestor of
Kinnaird of that ilk, and Thomas, ancestor of the Kin-
naird of Culbin. Allan succeeded his father, Thomas,
and got a charter of the barony of Culbin, in Perthshire,
May 7, 1440. He likewise got a charter of the barony of
Culbin, on the resignation of his mother, Egidia. He
was succeeded in the estate of Culbin by his brother
Thomas, who obtained a charter of confirmation. He
was succeeded by his son Thomas, who was succeeded by
his son, Walter Kinnaird of Culbin, who was retoured
heir to his father Thomas de Culbin, 23rd January, 1509.
He married, first, Marjory Dunbar. He appears to have
married, secondly, Margaret Murray. He was succeeded
by his grandson, Walter Kinnaird of Culbin. He married
Elizabeth Innes, of the family of Innes. They were both
living in 1613, which is ascertained by the Inscription on
their Tombstone, still preserved in the Church of Dyke.
Walter was succeeded by his son, Alexander Kinnaird of
Culbin, who was retoured heir to his father Walter, in
1626. He was succeeded by his son Walter. This gen-
tleman is frequently mentioned in the Rolls and Acts of
Parliament. He was succeeded by his son, Thomas
Kinnaird of Culbin. He was named a Commissioner for
raising public duties in Morayshire in 1685. He was
succeeded by his son, Alexander Kinnaird of Culbin.
This gentleman succeeded after the estate was much
destroyed by the blowing of the sand. He married
Mary, daughter of Alexander, 10th Lord Forbes, and
relict of Hugh Rose of Kilravock, by whom he had a son
named Thomas, who was a young child, and left an
orphan at the time the estate was destroyed. A female
relation took charge of him, removed with him to Edin-
burgh, where she supported herself and him for two
years by needlework, until a half-brother of his, Colonel
Alexander Rose, of a regiment of horse stationed in Ire-
land, took him under his care. The young man afterwards
became Captain of a troop of horse, and died about 1743.
The estate of Culbin was sold, about 1700, to Duff of
Drummuir, from whose family it came by purchase into
234 DEATH OF MARTIN, AUTHOR OF THIS PAPER.
the family of Grant. In 1772, the late Sir James Grant
sold it, along with Moy, to Colonel Hugh Grant, a son of
Sheuglies, upon whose death, in 1822, it fell by disposi-
tion to James Murray Grant, Esq., of Glenmoriston.]
(See a Lecture delivered before the Elgin Literary and
Scientific Association, in May, 1861, by John Martin, a
native of Elgin, having been born, in humble circum-
stances, at Clackmarras. He became teacher of the Free
School of Anderson's Institution in 1831, and retired in
1866 on a pension of £60. He died set. 87, on Sunday the
8th May, 1881.) (Eo.)
[By charter, dated at Elgin, 1189-99, King William
gave the Churches of Foreys and Dyk, with the tithes
and vicarage of the same, to the Bishop of Moray. (Reg.
Ep. Morav.)
The Church of Dilse (?Dyke) (Theiner) is rated at
22s. 8d. in the Taxation of 1275, and at 4 merks in that of
1350. It was a prebend of the Cathedral of Moray, and
one of the mensal churches of the diocese.
The three Churches of Dyke, Moy, and Forres were
under one Minister in 1574; and Alexander Duff was
Reader at Dyke.
A decreet was pronounced on 24th Jan., 1618, " Anent
the vneiting of the Kirk of Moy to the Kirk of Dyik,
baithe lyand w'in the diocie of Murray" (Acta Part., v.
569). In 1641 the right of presentation to the Church of
Dyke was found to belong to the Earl of Dunfermline,
Lord Fyvie (ibid) ; but Campbell of Moy entered a pro-
test against this finding, as recorded in the Presbytery
books of Forres. (Shaw's History of Province of Moray).
In 1780, during the digging of the foundations of the
present Church of Dyke, and near the steps which lead
to the burial-place of Brodie of that ilk, a quantity of
silver coins were found. They belonged to the time of
William the Lion, and were from the mints of Edinburgh,
Perth, Roxburgh, Stirling, and Berwick.
Mr. Cardonnel (Numismata Scotice, Preface 3, 4), who
gives a description of the coins and their discovery, says
that they were found by a workman, who immediately
closed up the trench where they la}r, but who returned
at night, along with his wife, and carried off the whole
mass, which, adds Mr. Cardonnel, " must have been very
DISCOVERY OF COINS AT THE CHURCH. 235
valuable," for the finder, a poor man, soon became a con-
siderable farmer. Fortunately some specimens of "the
find " were saved from the melting-pot, and deposited in
the Museum of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland,
where they are still to be seen. This discovery was one
of National importance, it having been previously doubted
whether there was a silver Coinage in Scotland in the
time of King William.
EPITAPHS IN THE CHURCHYARD OF DYKE.
The Church and Churchyard of Dyke occupy a rising
ground, and on the south side of the Kirk is the burial-
place of the present noble family of Moray. It is enclosed
with a railing, and marked by a handsome Obelisk of
white marble. The family arms adorn the needle, and a
tablet in the plinth bears : —
I. THIS IS THE BURYING-PLACE OF THE FAMILY OF MORAY.
In the Kirk-Session Records (Jan. 17, 1683) it is stated,
"This day being Wednesday, the corps of the right
honourable The Countess of Murray were interred in the
church of Dyke, the Right Reverend father in God, the
Bishop of Murray, preached the funerall sermon." This
entry appears to relate to the fourth Countess, Emilia,
daughter of Sir William Balfour of Pitcullo, and mother
of the fifth Earl of Moray. According to Douglas1 Peer-
age, the second Earl of Moray, who died at Darnaway, Cth
August, 1638, "was buried next day at the Church of
Dyke, without any pomp, according to his own directions."
The founder of this branch of the Earls of Moray was
James, the "Good Regent" (natural son of James V.),
who was assassinated by Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh at
Linlithgow, 21st January, 1569-70, when in his 37th
year. He was buried within St. Giles' Church, Edinburgh,
in which is his Monument, lately restored. His wife was
a daughter of Earl Marischal, and by her he left two
daughters, the elder of whom, Lady Elizabeth, married
James Stewart, afterwards the " Bonny Earl of Moray "
of Scottish song, son and heir of Sir James Stewart of
Doune. He was murdered by Huntly's men among the
rocks near Donibristle, 7th February, 1591-2, and wa&
succeeded by his eldest brother, James, from whom the
present Earl is descended.
236 SEPULTURES OF THE BRODIES OF BRODIE
The family Burial-aisle of the Brodies of that ilk is at
the east end of the Church. It is an ashlar building,
with a stair leading to a vault, in which are : —
II. The coffins of William Douglas-Rynett and George
Gordon, two of the sons of the Laird of Brodie. The former,
born 20th Jan., 1815, died 16th Nov., 1865, and the latter,
born 12th Aug., 1839, died 3rd Dec., 1868.
III. A coffin-slab, built into the north end of the upper
flat of the aisle, presents a calvary on steps, with a sword
below the right arm. Round the margin of the stone
(part of which is unfortunately covered by the floor) is
this inscription : —
*%< hie iacet richarbus brothu nt nxore s«a xjut xrbiit x° bi°
iie ano imi tn° = ccct° = bcxx° = biii°
This is the only inscribed slab within the aisle, and
nothing is recorded of the persons commemorated.
IV. There are also three inscribed coffin-plates within
the building : —
The Hon. Alexander Brodie of Brodie, Esq., Lyon King at
Arms for Scotland. Obiit March 9, 1754, setat. 58.
It was in this laird's time, says Mr. Young in his
History of New Spynie, that the family of Brodie reached
its greatest height of prosperity, being then possessed of
very considerable territory, to which the Lyon-King
added the property of Lochloy. He was sometime M.P.
for Elginshire, and afterwards for the Inverness District
of Burghs.
V. Alexander Brodie of Brodie, Esq., born May 29, 1741,
died at Bristol, Sept. 5th, 1759, aged 18 years, the last surviving
son of Alex. Brodie of Brodie, Lord Lyon, deceased, and of
Mary Sleigh, his wife.
VI. Mary Sleigh, only child of Major Sam Sleigh and of
Isabella Corbet, his wife. This truly worthy lady died univer-
sally regretted the 21st March, 1769, in the 56th year of her
age, the widow of Alex. Brodie of Brodie, Esq., Lord Lyon, by
whom she had eight children, three most promising sons and
five daughters, all which she survived, except one most unspeak-
ably afflicted daughter, Emilia, the wife of John Macleod of
Macleod, Esq.
Tradition says that " a weird " was pronounced against
the Brodies of that ilk, to the effect that no son born
IN THE PARISH OF DYKE. 237
within the Castle of Brodie should ever become heir to
the property. It is added that this was caused by one of
the lairds who induced an old woman to confess being
guilty of witchcraft by offering her a new gown, and
then, instead of fulfilling his promise, had her tied to a
stake and burnt.
It is further stated that the lady of the Lyon-King
treated the malison with indifference, and bore all her
family in the Castle of Brodie ; but as she had the mis-
fortune to see one son after another pass away by death,
it is said she repented of her neglect of the warning, and
died of a broken heart. But the malison, whatever effect
it may have had in days of yore, has now quite lost its
power, the present laird having been born within the
Castle of Brodie, 8th Sept., 1840.
On the death of the son of the Lyon-King in 1759, the
succession to Brodie devolved upon his cousin, James
Brodie of Spyhie. He married a daughter of William,
Earl of Fife, by whom he had a large family, and, dying
in 1824, was succeeded by a grandson, William, who died
in 1873, having been Lord Lieutenant of Nairnshire from
his succession in 1824. He was succeeded by his second
surviving son, Hugh, who married, Jan. 1, 1868, Lady
Eleanor, third daughter of the second Earl of Ducie, by
whom he has issue, four sons and one daughter.
The present laird's grandfather, who was accidentally
drowned at Madras in 1802, left two sons and five
daughters. The fourth daughter, Isabella, married Capt.
Pattullo, of the Madras Cavalry; and within an aisle
(adjoining that of the Brodies) is a marble Monument,
with war trophies, the names of the battles in which the
deceased was engaged — Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman — and
this Inscription : —
VII. This monument is erected to the memory of Lieut.-CoL
James Brodie Pattullo, C.B. of the 30th Regiment, by many
friends who wished to record their affection for him, and their
admiration of his character, conduct, and military services.
Distinguished throughout the whole Crimean Campaign for his
gallantry and zeal, he was not less remarkable for the fortitude
with which he bore its unparalleled hardships, and for his
devotion to the best interests of the soldiers. He fell mortally
wounded at the attack on the Redan, 8th Sept., 1855, and died
the following day, in his 33rd year, greatly beloved and
238 DERIVATION OF BRODIE.
lamented. Sustained in death by the principles which guided
his life, expressing his reliance solely on the merits of our Lord
Jesus Christ, he died in the sure and certain hope of a joyful
resurrection.
The surname of Brothu, Brothy, Brodie, is of territorial
origin, and seems to have been assumed from the lands of
that name in Dyke, from which, under the name of
"Brochy," the King's collector, in 1337 (Chamb. Rolls),
charges himself with certain payments. Shaw supposes
the family to be a branch of the ancient Moravienses, or
those of the time of Malcolm IV., and begins the pedigree
with Malcolm, Thane of Brodie, who died in 1285, a
designation which occurs in the case of John of Brodie,
in 1492 (Reg. Ep. Morav., 236). It is further said that
Thomas of Brothie and Dyke had a charter of the lands
of Brodie from Bruce in 1311. The most important cadet
of the family is Brodie of Lethen, whose ancestor, Alex-
ander, was a brother of David Brodie of that ilk, and
uncle to Lord Brodie. Mr. John Clerk Brodie, W.S.,
Laird of Idvies, is a son of this branch.
It was one of the lairds of Brodie who wrote an inter-
esting Diary, 1652-80, which was carried on by his son
down to 1685. It has been printed for "the Spalding
Club," under the editorship of Dr. David Laing, of the
Signet Library, Edinburgh. On reference to Dr. Laing's
preface, and to Spalding's History of the Trubles (i. 376),
it will be found that the Laird of Brodie had such a
share in the destruction of two oil Paintings of the
Crucifixion and of the Day of Judgment, and of some
carved work in the Cathedral of Elgin, as cannot be
sympathised with in modern times.
VIII. About sixty years ago, while the sexton was
digging a grave, he came upon a carved Stone which had
formed a portion of the tomb of the old family of Kinnaird
of Culbin. It bears two shields. One initialed V.K.
exhibits the Kinnaird and Innes coats, quarterly; the
other, initialed B.I., is charged with the Innes arms, and
a crescent for a difference. Below are the following date
and curious rhyme in interlaced Roman capitals : —
1613.
V ALTER : KINNAIRD : ELIZABETH :
INNES : THE : BVILDARS : OF : THIS :
TOMB OF THE KINNAIRDS OF CULBIN. 239
BED : OF : STANE : AR : LAIRD : AD :
LADIE: OF: COVBINE: QVICK:
TVA : AND : THAIRS : QVHANE :
BRAITHE : is : GANE : PLEIS : GOD :
VIL : SLEIP : THIS : BED : VITHIN :
In July, 1571, the above-named persons had a nineteen
years' lease of the teinds of Culbyn, Meretoun, and Leak
from the Bishop of Moray, for the yearly payment of
£12 6s. 8d. (App. Reg. Ep. Morav). Walter Kynnaird,
whose daughter was probably the wife of Fraser of Braikie,
in Forfarshire, died about 1626, as on 4th April of that
year his son Alexander was served heir to his father in
the lands of Culbin and others.
The next printed Retour (Aug. 15, 1677) shows that
Thomas Kinnaird succeeded his father, Walter, in Culbin,
and other properties, among which were the fishings and
ferry coble on the Findhorn, and the " Mansio capellae
Sancti Niniani infra parochiam de Diser" (?Dyke).
There was a Chapel dedicated to St. Ninian near Kincorth,
where the name is still preserved in Ninian's Croft. The
tenant of the farm of which the croft forms a part is
bound to pay to the Kirk Session yearly the price of
three old bolls of barley for behoof of the poor.
Culbin was an ancient inheritance of the Morays of
Duffus, Alexander of Moray being designed Lord of
Culbin in 1389 (Reg. Ep. Morav. 354). The heiress, Egi-
dia de Moravia, having married Thomas, son of Richard
Kinnaird of that ilk (ancestor of the Lords Kinnaird in
Perthshire), brought Culbin to her husband about 1440.
The property was bought from the Kinnairds by Alex.
Duff of Drummuir, from the creditors of whose second
son, John, Culbin and Easter Moy were acquired by
Major George Grant about 1732.
IX. An enclosure (near the Moray obelisk) contains
two marble slabs, thus inscribed : —
X. The Burial Ground of the Macleods of Dalvey.
Sacred to the memory of Mary Mackintosh, the beloved
wife of Eneas Mackintosh, who died 3rd Nov., 1848.
Grangehill, the name of which was changed to Dalvey
by Sir Alex. Grant, of the Durris family, who bought the
property about 1749, was acquired by an ancestor of the
240 EPITAPHS IN THE CHURCHYARD OF DYKE.
late Mr. Macleod about 17 . As a whole, it is possibly
one of the loveliest of the many lovely spots in Moray-
shire ; and the gardens, which contained a number of rare
and valuable plants, were much visited by tourists and
others during the time of the late proprietor, who died in
1876. At Grangehill the Prior of Pluscardine had a
grange and a cell of monks who cultivated the land.
XI. From a plain headstone to the east of the Brodie
vault : —
The Burial-place of the Allans, late of Muirhall, Brodie.
"The Allans" were a farmer family, and a daughter
married the Rev. Dr. David Brichan, Minister of Dyke,
"an accomplished scholar and elegant writer," who died
in 1814. A son, James Brodie Brichan, who adhered to
the Free Church, and died of pleurisy at Edinburgh, 17th
March, 1864, at the age of 54, was an industrious and
trustworthy literary antiquary. He assisted the late
Professor Cosmo Innes in the compilation of some of his
valuable works, and was sole author of the .last, and of a
considerable portion of the first, volume of Origines
Parochiales Scotice, which is perhaps one of the most
valuable of the many important works printed for the
Bannatyne Club. This great work is unfortunately un-
finished. The portion issued embraces (vol. i.) the Dioceses
of Glasgow ; vol. ii., part 1, Argyle and the Isles ; part 2,
Ross, Caithness, Argyle, and the Isles.
XII. A death's head and crossed bones are rudely
carved upon the stone, which bears this brief record : —
Robert Cowie,
Christian Mawer, 1682.
The next three inscriptions are from tablestones : —
XIII. Placed here at the request of John Clunes, of the
parish of St. Mary, County of Middlesex, and Island of
Jamaica, in commemoration of the remains of his beloved
parents, James Clunes and Jean MacKintosh, the former born
in the year 1730, died in the year 1802 ; the latter born in the
year 1749, died in the year 1811.
XIV. Mary William, wf. of D. Christie, d. 1784, a. 23.
Well did she act the different scenes of life j
A modest virgin, and a loving wife ;
FEMALE SCHOOL IN THE PARISH OF DYKE. 241
A darling daughter, and a mother kind ;
A pleasant neighbour, and a constant friend ;
By all who knew her worth, she liv'd belov'd,
And all with sorrow for her death was mov'd.
XV. William Falconer, and his wf. Janet Gavin, " who once
possessed the large farms of Grange Green." Erected in 1805
by the late Eobert Falconer, teacher of languages, Newcastle : —
When resurrection's hour shall come,
And death itself shall die,
The Lord will take his servant home
To endless life and joy.
XVI. From a headstone : —
Sacred to the memory of James M'Kenzie and Sophia
Bower, his wife —
When thousands of winters pass over my head
In this house that is cold and dreary,
With me the worldling is confin'd,
But with me there is rest for the weary.
By Jas. M'Kenzie, his son, State of Ohio, N.A.
The Parish Kirk and Public School stand at the village-
of Dyke. Near the manse is a female school, into the
gable of which two triangular-shaped slabs are built,
with these inscriptions : —
XVII. Erected for Education of Youth of the Female Sex
in piety and virtue by Brodie of that ilk, 1701.
This refers to a donation which was made by James
Brodie, who wrote a continuation of his father's Diary, in
which he gives some quaint notices of himself and his
backslidings. When fined £24,000 Scots for refusing the
Test Act, he consoles himself by remarking — " The world
has bein my idol, and the love of it and covetousness the
root of much evil," adding, "and the Lord justlie may
punish in this."
Mr. Brodie, as noticed below, was assisted by a legal
" friend " in the material point of augmenting the teacher's
salary : —
XVII. Bestowed for salary by lohn Anderson, writer, our
kindlie freind, the rent of two thousand merks yearly, 1701.
Another benefactor to the parish was Henry Vass, who-
died in 1757. He was some time in the service of Major
Grant of Culbin, and left the interest of £100 to assist m
VOL. II. 16
242 PARISH OF DYKE.
clothing twelve indigent children in Dyke, as recorded
upon his tombstone at Elgin.
The Muckle Burn, which runs through the parish of
Dyke, and falls into the Findhorn, is bridged at Dalvey,
and at the railway station of Brodie. A handsome sus-
pension bridge, which cost about £7,000, crosses the
Findhorn on the Inverness turnpike, and bears these
inscriptions : —
XVIII. The stone bridge erected here in 1800 having been
swept away by the flood of the 4th August, 1829, the suspen-
sion bridge was built 1832. Founded 1st March, 1832.
XIX. Erected under Act of Parliament by the subscription
of the inhabitants of Forres and its vicinity. Samuel Brown,
Commander, Royal Navy, Engineer. Opened 30th May, 1832.]
(Jervise's Epitaphs.)
Before I proceed further, I shall give a sketch of
THE EARLS OP MOEAY.
This Earldom continued long feudal, reverting
to the Crown in default of male issue in the
direct line. The first I have signed Earl of
Moray is, OEngus Comes de Moravia interfectus
est cum suis (Chron. Melr.) anno 1130. Mr.
Myles makes him descended of King Duncan
the bastard. Others will have the descendants
of Duncans Earl of Moray as followeth (1) Dun-
can, bastard son of King Malcolm III. He
usurped the throne anno 1094 ; and his charter
sheweth, that he hoped to transmit it to his pos-
terity ; but he was cut off anno 1095. His son,
by Ethelreda, daughter of Gospatrick, son of
Criman, Earl of Northumberland (Myles), (2)
William Nepos Comitis David et Nepos Eegis
(Dalr. Col.). Dugdale says, if my memory doth
THE EARLS OF MORAY. 243
not fail, that he was Earl of Moray, and married
Ailtze de Eumelli. This is the more probable,
because he was much in favour with King David
I., and was one of his generals. His son was (3)
Dovenald. Hovedan says, He was called Mac-
William, Mac William being son of William, the
son of Duncan, and was killed anno 1187. This
is agreeable to Chron. Melr. ad. ann. 1186.
" Cumque Eex esset apud oppidum Inverness
cum exercitu, Comites Scotiae miserunt suos
homines ad praedandum, inveneruntque Mac Wil-
liam cum suis super Moram quae dicitur Man-
garvia prope Mureff, and mox cum eo pugnarunt,
et Deo opitulante, cum multis aliis intersece-
runt." * His son was (4) Dovenald, of whom
the Chron. Melr. ad. ann. 1215 observeth, that
Dovenald, son of Mac William, invaded Moray,
but was cut off by Mac-in-Tsayairt, ancestor to
Eoss, Earl of Eoss, and his head brought to the
king. Possibly from these Mac Williams, came
the Mac Williams in Boharm, &c.
The next Earl of Moray I have met with, is
Sir Thomas Eandolph, great grandson of Eanul-
fus, who is a frequent witness in King William's
Charters. His son Thomas died anno 1262, and
* Translation. — When the King was with his army at the
town of Inverness, the Barons of Scotland sent forth their
retainers to plunder; and they found MacWilliam with his
troops above Moram, which is called Mangarvia, on the bor-
ders of Moray, and they directly encountered him, and with
the help of God they slew him with many besides.
244 THE EARLS OF MORAY.
was interred in the Abbey of Melrose. His son,
Sir Thomas, Lord Chamberlain, married Isabel,
sister of King Robert Bruce. And their son, Sir
Thomas, was created Earl of Moray anno 1313
or 1314. Although'the Charter or Patent beareth
no date, yet it is certain that in the convention
at Ayr 1315, he was Earl of Moray (Anderson
.Indep.). Thomas died anno 1331, and his son
Thomas, second Earl of Moray, succeeded him.
He was, according to Fordun, " paternae probi-
tatis, imitator." He was slain fighting gallantly
against the enemies of his country, at the fatal
Battle of Duplin anno 1332; and having no issue,
he was succeeded by his brother, Earl John, who
was a strenuous asserter of the liberties of his
country. He had the misfortune to be taken
prisoner at the Battle of Kilblain anno 1335, and
was confined, first in the Castle of Nottingham,
afterwards in the Tower of London, till he was
released by the mediation of the King of France,
and exchanged for the Earl of Salisbury anno
1341. He was immediately constituted Warden
of the west Marches. He accompanied King
David II. in his unfortunate expedition into Eng-
land, and was killed at the Battle of Durham
anno 1346, leaving no issue, and the Earldom
reverted to the Crown. But Patrick Dunbar,
Earl of March, in right of his wife Agnes, daughter
of Thomas Randolph, first Earl of Moray, was
designed " Comes Marciae et Moravise."
THE EARLS OF MORAY. 245
John Dunbar, second son of Earl Patrick,
marrying the Princess Marjory, King Eobert II.'s
daughter, was made Earl of Moray 1372, but
Badenoch, Lochaber, and Urquhart were ex-
cepted out of the grant. And upon the demise
of Earl James Dunbar, the last of that name,
Archibald, brother to the Earl of Douglas, was
Earl of Moray, about 1446. But having joined
in his brother's rebellion in 1452, he was for-
feited, and was killed in 1455.
Upon the forfeiture of Archibald Douglas, the
title was assumed by Janet Dunbar, daughter of
James Earl of Moray, and wife of James Lord
Crichton. In 1454, there are several charters
granted by Janet Dunbar, Countess of Moray,
and Lady Frenderet, to Alexander Dunbar of
Westfield, her brother (pen. West.), but she gave
up her pretensions to the Earldom of Moray, and
obtained that of Caithness to her son George.
In 1501, James Stewart, natural son of King
James IV., got the Earldom of Moray. He was
called the Little Earl, and died in 1544, without
male issue.
In 1548, the Earldom was conferred on George
Earl of Huntly ; but that grant was recalled in
1554, and it remained in the Crown till the
year 1562.
It was then granted to James Stewart, natural
son to King James V. In the Acts of Privy
Council 12th February, 1561, he is designed
246 THE EARLS OF MORAY.
i
Earl of Mar; but in the Council held at Aberdeen
15th October, 1562, he is designed Earl of Moray
(Keith's Hist.). His eldest daughter, Elizabeth,
married James Stewart, Lord Downe, who, in
her right, became Earl of Moray. Lord Downe
was descended of Robert Duke of Albany, third
son to King Robert II. James, son of Murdac,
Duke of Albany, had four sons; viz., Andrew,
James, Walter, and Arthur, who, because they
were born out of the country, were legitimated
anno 1472. Andrew was created Lord Evendale
1459 ; and having no issue, was succeeded by his
nephew, Alexander, son of Walter, whose son
Andrew, third Lord Evendale, with the consent
of ihe Crown, exchanged that title for Ochiltree.
In his father's lifetime, he married Margaret,
daughter of Sir John Kennedy of Blairquhan,
with whom he had three sons, Andrew, second
Lord Ochiltree, whose male line is now extinct ;
Henry Lord Methven, whose male line is also
extinct; and Sir James of Beith, who was a great
favourite of King James V., and was by him made
one of the Gentlemen of his Bed-chamber, Lieu-
tenant of his Guards, Constable of the Castle of
Down, and Stewart of Mentieth and Strathgartny.
He was killed in Dunblain by the Laird of Dun-
treath, and his two brothers, out of a grudge for
his having obtained the Stewartry of Mentieth,
which was formerly in their family 1547, and
his son James was created Lord Downe anno
LORD DOVVNIE CREATED A PEER. 247
1581,* whose son James, married Elizabeth
Countess of Moray, and from them the present
family is descended.
[It was this Earl who was murdered at Dunibristle in
1592, who was succeeded by his son, James, who died in
1633. His son, James, survived till 1652, and was suc-
ceeded by his son, Alexander, who survived his first-born
son, Alexander, Lord Downe, who, being the father of
two beautiful daughters, the spouses of their happy hus-
bands, Brigadier-general Alexander Grant of Grant, and
Thomas Fraser of Strichen — their uncle, Charles, the
second son, succeeded their father, Earl Alexander, who,
being removed in 1735, was succeeded by his brother
Francis, the third son of Earl Alexander, the 4th Earl,
who left his rank and fortune to his eldest son, James,
the 7th Earl. He was succeeded loy his son, Francis, who
was succeeded by three of that name. John, the llth
Earl, succeeded Francis, the 10th Earl, in 1859. He was
succeeded by his half-brother, Archibald-George, who died
unmarried in 1782 ; and was succeeded by his only sur-
viving brother George. The heir presumptive is his lord-
ship's cousin, Edmund Archibald Stewart Gray of Gray,
King James and Balmerino.] (Eo.)
Arms of Eandolph, Earl of Moray. Or, three cusheons
pendent by the corners within the royal tressure, Gules.
Arms of Dunbar, Earl of Moray. Quarterly, 1st and 4th,
The arms of Eandolph, Earl of Moray, above blazoned. 2nd
* The form of creating Lord Downe a Peer, is by an Act of
Parliament, 7th of James VI. anno 1581, bearing, that the
lands of Downe, &c., were feued by Queen Mary to Sir James
Stewart of Downe, Knight, his heirs, &c., and the said Sir James
being descended of the royal blood : "Therefore his Highness,
with the advice of his three estates, erects, creates, and incor-
porates, all the foresaid bonds, offices, &c., in an Lordship, to
be called the Lordship of Downe, who shall have the dignity
and place of a Lord of Parliament, with his arms effeiring
thereto." This was an usual form (possibly for the greater
solemnity, the King being under age) in imitation of the old
form of creating an Earl, by creating his lands into a county.
(Essay on Brit. Antiq.).
248 ARMS OF THE EARLS OF MORAY.
and 3rd Gules, a lion rampant within a border argent, charged
with eight roses of the field.
Arms of Douglas, Earl of Moray. Quarterly, 1st and 4th,
The arms of Randolph, Earl of Moray, above blazoned. 2nd
and 3rd, a man's heart ensigned with an Imperial Crown
proper, on a chief azure, three stars of the field.
Arms of James, Earl of Moray, natural son of King James
IV. Quarterly, 1st and 4th, The imperial arms of Scotland
bruised with a baton sinister, counter charged of the field and
charge. 2nd and 3rd, The arms of Randolph, Earl of Moray,
above blazoned.
Arms of James, Earl of Moray, Regent of Scotland in Queen
Mary's time. The same as the last.
Arms of the present Earl of Moray. Quarterly, 1st and 4th,
The imperial arms of Scotland within a bordure garbonated,
azure and argent. 2nd, Or, a fess checkie azure and argent.
3rd, The arms of Randolph, Earl of Moray, above blazoned.
Above the shield is placed his Lordship's coronet, over which
is set an helmet befitting his quality, with a mantling Gules,
the doubling ermine. On a wreath of his liveries is set for a
crest, a pelican feeding her young. Or, in a nest vert. In an
•escroll above the crest, this motto. SALUS PER CHRISTUM
REDEMPTOREM. And on a compartment below the shield, are
placed for supporters, two grey hounds, argent collared, Gules.
I shall now give some account of
THE FAMILY OF BRODIE.
This name is manifestly local, taken from the
lands of Brodie. In ancient writings, it is called
Brothie, softened into Brodie. In the old Irish,
Broth signifies a ditch or mire ; the same as Dyke
in Saxon, and Digue in French. And the mire,
trench, or ditch, that runneth from the village of
Dyke, to the north of Brodie House, seemeth to
have given this place the name of Brodie. Be
this as it will, the antiquity of this name ap-
peareth from this, that no history, record, or
THE FAMILY OF BRODIE. 249
tradition (that I know of) doth so much as hint,
that any other family or name possessed the
lands of Brodie before them, or that they came
as strangers from another country. I incline
much to think, that they were originally of the
ancient Moravienses, and were one of these loyal
tribes, to whom King Malcolm IV. gave lands
about the year 1160, when he transplanted the
Moray rebels. At that time surnames were
fixed ; and the Macintoshes, Innesses, Bosses,
then assumed their names ; and probably so did
the Brodies. And their arms being the same
with these of the Morays, sheweth that they
were originally the same people.
The old writs of this family were either carried
away by Lord Gordon when he burnt Brodie
House in 1645, or were destroyed in that burn-
ing ; and yet the descents of the family may be
traced up about 500 years. (1) Malcolm was
Thane of Brodie in the reign of King Alexander
III. (2) Michael films Malcolmi, Thanus de
Brothie and Dyke, had a charter from King
Kobert Bruce about 1311 (Hist, of Kilr. and Sir
G. MJc. M.S.). (3) Joannes de Brothie, accom-
panied the Earl of Mar Lord Lieutenant, about
the year 1376 (Hist. Kilr. and Maclnt.) (4)
John of Brodie, assisted the MacKenzies against
the MacDonalds, in the conflict at Park, anno
1466 (Hist, of Sutherl. &c.). (5) John of Brodie,
witness in an indenture between the Thane of
250 THE FAMILY OF BRODIE.
Calder and the Baron of Kilravock, anno 1482
(Pen. Cald.). (Here two or three descents are
wanting, which I could not find out.)
Alexander of Brodie, father of (9) David, who
died anno 1627, leaving six sons; viz., David,
who succeeded him ; Alexander, who purchased
the lands of Lethin, Kinloss, and Pitgavenie; Mr.
John, who was Dean of Moray, and whose son
William Brodie of Whitewreath, was father of
Mr. William Brodie, Advocate, who died a bache-
lor in 1741 ; Mr. Joseph, the fourth son, was
Mnister of F orres, and purchased the lands of
Main near Elgin, which his son Alexander dis-
poned to Pitgavenie, and bought the lands of
Muirhouse near Turiff, which Alexander's grand-
son sold of late ; Francis, the fifth son, purchased
the lands of Milntoun and others near Elgin,
which his grandson sold to Lord Braco, and his
great-grand-son is Alexander Brodie of Windy-
hills ; William, the sixth son, was proprietor of
Coltfield, and his son William dying without
issue, the lands came to the house of Brodie.
(10) David had two sons ; Alexander, who suc-
ceeded him, and Joseph of Asleisk. This Joseph
of Asleisk, was father of George of Brodie, and
of James of Whitehill, who purchased Coltfield
and Spynie ; and whose son, James Brodie of
Spynie, Advocate and Sheriff-depute of Moray
and Nairn, died in 1756, leaving a son and heir,
James a minor, who now enjoys the estate, and
THE FAMILY OF BRODIE. 251
represents the family of Brodie. (11) Alexander
was a man of eminent piety and prudence, and
was chosen a Lord of Session in 1649 ; but soon
resigned. He was one of the Commissioners
who were sent to treat with King Charles II. at
the Hague and at Breda. He died in 1679,
leaving issue, by a daughter of Sir Eobert Innes,
a son James, and a daughter married to Sir
Eobert Dunbar of Grangehill. (12) James,
married Lady Mary Kerr daughter of Kobert
Earl of Lothian, and dying in 1708, left nine
daughters: viz., Ann married to Lord Forbes;
Catherine married to Eobert Dunbar of Grange-
hill ; Elizabeth married to Cummine of Altyre ;
Grizzel married to Dunbar of Dumphail ; Emilia
married to Brodie of Asleisk ; Margaret married
to James Brodie of Whitehill ; Vere married to
Brodie of Muirhouse; Mary married to Chivez
of Muirtoun ; and Henrietta the youngest who
died unmarried. (13) George of Asleisk suc-
ceeded, and dying in 1716, left two sons, James
and Alexander ; and two daughters, one of which
was married to Sinclair of Ulbster in Caithness,
and the other to Munro of Navarre. (14) James
succeeded his father; and dying in 1720, was
succeeded by his brother. (15) Alexander, who
was appointed Lord Lyon in 1727. He married
Margaret daughter of Major Sley ; and dying in
1754, left a son Alexander who succeeded him,
and a -daughter who was married to John Younger
252 ARMS OF THE FAMILY OF BRODIE.
of MacLeod. (16) Alexander died a bachelor in
1759 ; and was succeeded by (17) James Brodie,
son of James Brodie of Spynie, and grandson of
James Brodie of Whitehill. He married Lady
Margaret Duff, daughter of the late Earl of Fife.
[Their first-born son was drowned in India by the
upsetting of his boat in the surge along the shore
—leaving a son William Brodie, who, on the death
of his grandfather, succeeded to the estates.]
The arms of the family of Brodie. Argent, a chevron Gules
between three stars azure. Supporters, two savages proper
wreathed about the head and middle with laurel. Crest, a
right hand holding a bunch of arrows. All proper. Motto,
UNITE.
AULDEARN PARISH.
The parish of Aldern (Ault-Jaran, i.e. the iron
coloured brook) is about 3 miles from east to
west, and as much from north to south.
The Church'56' standeth about a mile from the
sea, and from the east end of the parish, about 4
miles west from Dyke, 2 miles east from Nairn,
and 4 miles east from Calder. In the lower part
of the parish, towards the firth, is the barony of
Inshoch, with a large old house, the seat of the
Hays of Lochloy and Park. This was a very
ancient branch of the house of Errol, and were
Lairds of Park about 400 years. By their de-
* John Hay, of Lochloy, who deceased in July, 1640, left his
body to be buried in the burial place of his forbearis within the
queir of Aulderne, and ordained ane loft to be biggit within
the Kirk of Aulderne, on the north syd therof, toith the timber
gotten of the rhanrie ^iirk of (Elgin. (Kilravock Papers. ED.)
PROPERTIES IN AULDEARN PARISH. 253
clining, the lands of Inshoch and Park came into
the family of Brodie about the beginning of this
century. The lands of Park (in the west end of
the parish) were sold about the year 1724 to
Hugh Hay, after whose death they were, at a
judicial sale in 1755, purchased by Sir Alexander
Grant of Dalvey.
South-east of Inshoch is the house of Penick,
the seat of, and built by Alexander Dunbar, Dean
of Moray, or by his son. This was a part of the
Priory lands of Urquhart, and the residence of
the Dunbars of Grange, till about the 1680, when
they sold Penick to the Laird of Brodie, and
resided at Burgie. Next westward is Kinsterie,
which (with Brightmonie contiguous to it) came
from the Lauders to the Chisholms, and from
them to the Sutherlands of Duffus. A branch of
the family of Duffus were heritors of Kinsterie,
which they sold about 50 years ago, and pur-
chased Burrowsbridge and Myreside in Spynie
parish, and took the title of Greenhall. James
Sutherland late of Kinsterie, was a surveyor of
the customs. The lands were long under seques-
tration for debt, but lately purchased by John
Gordon of Clunie.
Close by the Church is the barony of Boath,
the property of Alexander Dunbar, the oldest
branch of the family of Durris, and possessors • of
that barony above 150 years. West from Boath
is Kinudie ; this was a part of the estate of
254 PROPERTIES IN AULDEARN PARISH.
Park, and in 1741 and thence to 1621, Hay of
Kinudie had the lands of Maine near Elgin.
From the Hays, Kinudie came to the Urquharts,
and in 1670 Hugh Eose of Kilravock purchased
Kinudie, Hunterbog, &c., from Alexander Urqu-
hart ; and in 1767 they were sold by Kilravock
to Mr. James Eussel.
The upper part of the parish is high ground,
and in the east end of it, is the barony of Moyness
and Boghol. This was a part of the estate of
Westfield, given to John Dunbar, a second son
of that family, about the year 1584. And in
1634, Kobert Dunbar, son of the said John, dis-
poned these lands to John Grant of Loggie,
whose son, James Grant, sold them to Sir Hugh
Campbell of Calder in 1668, and they are now
Calder's property. West from Moyness is the
barony of Lethin ; this was a part of the estate of
Falconer of Hawkerton as early as the year 1295,
and continued so, till soon after the year 1600, it
was sold to John Grant of Fruechie, who about
the 1613, built a large house, and there resided.
His son Sir John Grant, after he came to the
estate in 1622, sold this barony to Alexander
Brodie, second son to David, Laird of Brodie.
This gentleman likewise purchased the Abbey
lands of Kinloss, from Bruce Lord Kinloss, and
in 1630 purchased the lands of Pitgavenie from
Alexander Hay of Kinudie. There has of late
been built at Lethin, a fine modern house, which,
DERIVATION OF AULDEARN. 255
with the gardens, inclosures, and planting, makes
a delightful seat.
AULDEARN.
[Situation, Soil, Climate. — The parish of Auldearn, on
the eastern frontier of the county of Nairn, extends 6
miles westward along the coast, from the boundary of
Dyke ; and it is stretched to the same extent backward
from the shore, meeting Ardclach and Calder towards the
south. The village of Auldearn, signifying in the Gaelic,
the aller brook, although not entitled now to that appel-
lation, is near the centre of the parish : it is also 20 miles
from Elgin, and at the same distance from Inverness. A
highway between these towns passes through it, more
pleasant, in equal repair, and not longer than the post-
road, conducted through a desert skirt on the outside of
the parish.
The soil in the eastern quarter of the parish is a strong
clay of a red colour ; it produces luxuriant crops, but is
of difficult cultivation: southward towards Ardclach, it
is a blacker mould, but not so fertile nor early. About
the village the soil is light, and the crops are only
weighty and full in rainy or moist summers. The nor-
thern side of the parish is a heavy cold loam, difficult to
manage in a wet winter or spring.
Lord Cawdor's property is so much encumbered by
baulks and stone, that its value might be raised more
than one fifth by clearing properly the fields.
The climate, healthful, is generally serene and dry, but
a little colder and more wet in the higher parts of the
country.
State of Property. — The valued rent of the parish
amounts to £7255 7d. Scots.
Lethin House, the family-seat of Miss Brodie, is a
stately handsome edifice, pleasantly situated in a valley,
and embellished by the rural decorations of gardens,
enclosures, walks, and a great extent of wood on either
hand, among which a number of majestic beeches form
a striking appearance, by the bulky strength of the tall
bole, and the lofty canopy of the spreading branches.
The valued rent is £1100 Scots.
In a green dale, northward of the village, is the seat of
256 STATE OF PROPERTY IN AULDEARN.
the ancient family of the Dunbars of Boath. It is plea-
santly situated on the bank of a winding brook; the
garden, plantation, and ornamental cultivation, decorate
the environs of this handsome structure. The valued
rent of the estate is £652 15s. 9d. The present Boath
House was erected in 1830 by Sir James A. Dunbar, Bart.
James Brodie, of Brodie, Esq., is the proprietor of the
barony of Inshoch ; on which there is a ruined castle, and
a considerable extent of natural birch-wood and full-
grown fir plantation.
On the adjoining estate of Penick, originally a part of
the lands of the Priory of Urquhart, there is a commodi-
ous old house of three stories, which, though for some
years uninhabited, is in pretty good repair.
The valued rent of these estates is £1599 11s. Scots.
The lands of Blackhills, Raitlone, Ley lands, with Moy-
ness, Boghole, and Earl's Seat, valued at £1483 19s. 6d.,
appertain to Lord Cawdor.
The estate of Knockandie, valued at £96, is the pro-
perty of Miss Ore of Nairn : and the rest of the parish,
Kinudie, Kinsterie, Auldearn, and Park, appertain to
Charles Gordon of Braid, Esq. On this property, valued
at £2322 14s. 4d. Scots, there is an elegant country-seat,
and more than 600 acres in wood, in groves, stripes, and
extended plantations. The land is also greatly embel-
lished and improved by drains, hedges, and enclosures;
the fields have been cleared of every incumbrance ; the
larger stones burst by gunpowder ; and the most substan-
tial and perfect cultivation everywhere completed.
The real rent may rise above £3000 sterling. There
are a few farms rented from £60 to £80 ; but the greater
number from £10 to £26 sterling. The most fertile soils
let from £1 5s. to £1 16s. the acre. The fields indeed are
open ; but the tenants would cheerfully give an adequate
rise of rent, were substantial enclosures formed. About
2000 bolls of barley, and the same quantity of oats, may
be disposed of yearly. The number of horses is 370.
The black cattle are generally starved in the spring, and
but poorly fed in the summer: their number is nearly
910. The sheep are of the small white-faced breed, and
amount to about 1200. The village of Auldearn consists
of 41 dwellings, which contain 185 inhabitants, whereof
4 are merchants, and 3 are inn keepers.
AULDEARN, THE SEAT OF THE DEAN OF MORAY. 257
State Ecclesiastical. — During the Roman Catholic dis-
pensation, Auldearn was the seat of the Dean of the
Diocese of Moray. It may be presumed his office, first
instituted in the year 1220 by Bishop Brice, obliged him
to reside principally, with the other canons, at the Cathe-
dral in Elgin. It does not appear that he had any other
revenue but the tithes of Auldearn and Nairn, and the
field at Elgin called the Dean's Crook, about 4 acres, now
in the parish of Spynie. There is nothing known re-
specting the succession of the deans: their scanty revenue
or remote situation might have prevented any of them,
though of distinguished abilities, from attaining to emi-
nence : it may be presumed, that the number of incum-
bents, after their institution, might be equal on the whole
to that of the bishops.
In the year 1650, about the time when the formation
of the parish of Kinloss was proposed, some parts of the
skirts of Auldearn were more commodiously annexed to
Nairn, Calder, and Ardclach.
In the year 1773, the Presbytery of Nairn, which,
together with that county, is here to be considered, was
established by the decree of the General Assembly, con-
joining Auldearn, Nairn, and Ardclach, from the Presby-
tery of Forres, to Calder and Croy from that of Inverness,
and to Airdersier from the Presbytery of Chanonry, of
the Synod of Ross, upon the other side of the Firth, with
which it had been incommodiously classed.
The Church, a modern building, in the village, is con-
joined to the walls of a ruined steeple; yet, like a house
with but one chimney, stands disfigured by the char-
acteristic of Caledonian frugality, the meanly looking-
belfry.
The stipend, including the allowance for the Communion,
is £48 15s. 6d., 54 bolls of meal, and 48 of bear, with 14
wedders, generally converted at 3s. 6d. each, being paid
when only one year old. Eleven shillings of the money
is paid from the Dean's Crook, probably the original rent
(10 merks Scots), which has been ever retained. The
right of patronage appertains to Mr. Brodie of Brodie.
The salary of the school is 16 bolls in meal and bear, and
the customary fees of about 30 scholars, and the fee of the
Session-Clerk, about £3, with the customary perquisites.
The provision for the poor, contributed in the usual
VOL. II. 17
258 REV. WM. LESLIE ON THE BOGHOLE SECEDERS.
manner by the people amounts to about £10 yearly, to
which is added £4 16s., arising from the interest of a
capital saved by the parsimony of the Session during the
last incumbency, distributed annually among 50 persons,
or occasionally as the necessities of any may require.
The members of the National Church amount to 1309,
and there are 97 dissenters of the Antiburgher Sect of
Seceders : joined by a few of their brethren in the neigh-
bouring parishes, they support a clergyman of their own
sort: his residence and chapel are at Boghole, on the
frontiers of Edinkielie, where one of the same sect has
lately opened a school at the common rates, and partly
by its novelty, and partly by its remote situation from
the Established schools, this seminary has been hitherto
well attended : but the zeal of the Session waxes gradually
more cold.
Miscellaneous Information. — The people rest their vir-
tue in the observance of devotional rather than in the
discharge of moral duties. From the strictest attention to
the last they believe themselves set free, by formal and
prolongated exercises of the first. Many on this account
make long pilgrimages to attend those popular preachers,
who inculcate chiefly the efficacy of Faith, and delight to
dwell on the merits of the Atonement ; and although the
people in general deem every gratification of sense to be
sinful in some degree, yet petty thefts among them are
not uncommon. Flagrant immoralities, however, and dis-
graceful profligacy, are carefully eschewed ; and they err
rather through illiberal and inveterate prejudice, than
from want of principle, or through depravity of mind.
It is ascertained that an almost inexhaustible store of
pure rich marie is contained in the moss and lake of
Litie, on the property of Lord Cawdor. It extends over
a space of 40 acres, and is from 16 to 20 feet deep. It
would not be costly to drain off the water: and Mr.
Gordon of Braid has shown the beneficial effects of similar
marie on his estate of Kinsterie, in his crops of corn,
turnip, and grass.
It appears probable to people skilled in opening coal
pits, that this useful mineral might be found in the
grounds between Boath and the shore. There is a quarry
wrought of dark blue stone, which, like coal, flames in
the fire; yet its bulk was not diminished, nor on the
DRUIDICAL TEMPLE ; ST. COLIN'S MARKET, AULDEARN. 259
application of water, does it fall into a powder like lime-
stone calcined.
Large fir trees are dug in the tracts of peat earth in
different parts of the parish. Some have been found 60
feet in length, and in diameter nearly 3 ; they are used in
the roofing of houses.
Under the bank, which, it has been said, ranges along
the coast from Dyke nearly to Inverness, there is in this
parish a lake [Loch Loy] about a mile in length, but less
than the half of that in breadth ; it is below the level of
the sea, of which it seems to have been once a part : by
the drifting of the sand, it is still more and more dimin-
ished both in extent and depth, though it still retains
more than 7 fathoms of water.
The temples of the Druids, pretty numerous over all
this quarter of the country, bear evidence of its having
been inhabited from very remote antiquity. An artificial
green mount near the Church, though called the Castle-
hill, is generally supposed to have been accumulated for
the court of civil justice, when these temples of the Druids
were forsaken. And it may be presumed, that if justice
was not always obtained, yet it must have cost less when
administered on a green mount, in the open air, than in a
splendid hall, on cushioned chairs, ermined robes of state,
and fantastic wigs.
There are three annual fairs in the village, where black
cattle is always the staple. That on the 21st of June
was established on the Festival of St. Columba, and is yet
called St. Colm's market.
The village is distinguished as the field of one of the
celebrated victories of the Marquis of Montrose in 1645,
for Charles I. endeavouring to establish Prelacy in Scot-
land, and despotism over all the empire. If it be at any
time for the good of a nation, or for the happiness of a
people, to commence a civil war, it must be to oppose the
practical establishment of the doctrine of passive obedience
and non-resistance: yet that generation involved them-
selves in calamities much more deplorable than any which
they feared from the king; and after all, they tamely
yielded up those rights to an upstart usurper, for the
defence of which they had rebelled against and murdered
a respectable prince, the representative of a long line of
their National monarchs.
260 BATTLE OF AULDEARN.
The inhabitants of Moray in that age were ad verse to
the measures of the Court, respecting both the Church and
State. Montrose therefore plundered, burned, and de-
stroyed the whole country, in a progress from Inverness,
particularly the estates and houses of Brodie of Lethin,
and Brodie of Brodie, Dunbar of Grangehill, Kinnaird of
Culbin, Burgie, Duffus, Garmach, Innes, and Redhall,
destroying also the nets and boats, to ruin the fishery of
Spey. Faster-eve's market at Elgin was that year given
up, for the fear of this gallant plunderer : and the most
substantial people of the town, abandoning their houses, fled
with their families and most valuable effects to the Castle
of Spynie, at that time a tenable fortress. In this situa-
tion, the forces of the people, under Lieutenant General
Urry, rendezvous at Inverness. In a casual skirmish, as
the troops marched onward, a young gentleman of the
King's party, Mr. Gordon of Rhynie, being wounded,
retired for his recovery to the house of a friend at
Struthers near Forres, and he was there murdered by a
party of the people from Elgin, under the conduct of the
young knight of Innes, zealous against Prelacy and non-
resistance, hastening to join the army at Inverness. Mon-
trose followed after to Auldearn, with 1500 foot, and 250
horse; where he was met by Urry and many of the
chiefs of the people, with an army of 3500 men and 400
horse. From before such superior powers Montrose was
inclined to retreat : but that was extremely hazardous, by
the approach of General Baillie from behind, with an army
still better appointed. He was, therefore, obliged to try
the fate of a battle, in which the superiority of numbers
was in a great degree compensated by the advantage of
the ground. Montrose concealed the greater part of his
forces behind the village, at that time on the height
covering the valley below, in which he placed a chosen
band, protected by an earthen fence. He gave the com-
mand of the right wing to Colonel Alexander Macdonald,
placed also in a situation protected by banks, dykes,
bushes, and great stones. There the Royal standard was
displayed, to entice the enemy to waste the exertion of
their best forces, where it must be impotent from the
situation of the ground, commanding the Colonel to keep
within his strength, notwithstanding any provocation
which the enemy might give. Lord Gordon led the
BATTLE OF AULDEARN. 261
cavalry, and himself took the charge of the rest of the
infantry, drawn up into the left wing, forming no main
army, unless the chosen band stationed before the village
might be so termed. This the van of the army of the
people attacked, bending at the same time, as had been
foreseen, their best strength against the right wing and
the Royal standard, pouring in fresh supplies of men,
relieving the troops that were spent. While this sug-
gested to Montrose the idea of a general attack, he was
privately informed that the right wing were put to
flight : " My Lord," he cried aloud to the leader of the
horse, dissembling to arouse the spirit of his men, " Mac-
donald routs the enemy on the right : let him not carry
off the glory of the day : let us also give a general and a
vigorous charge." This the cavalry of Urry were unable
to sustain ; in their rout they even disordered the foot,
whose flank they left also exposed : for some time, how-
ever, they bore against the shock, but were at last also
forced into flight. And Montrose thereupon hastened to
support Macdonald, who in the ardour of the onset had
rashly advanced from his strength, to which, however,
undismayed he re-conducted his men, covering their re-
treat himself, protected by an ample shield, and defended
by a keen sword. The horse which had encountered him,
perceiving the rout of their fellows, and the conquerors
advancing on themselves, fled after with most cowardly
precipitation; but the veteran foot maintained their ground
till almost every man fell in his rank, and the victory of
Montrose was to his utmost wish complete, with the loss
only of 20 of his men. 2000 of the enemy's were slain ;
many prisoners were taken; the whole baggage, much
wealth and ammunition, and 16 standards were won: but
the horse, by their inglorious flight, were for the most
part unhurt. Montrose returned southwards, plundering
and burning the country as he passed ; the estate, in par-
ticular, of the family of Cawdor, and their houses in the
town of Nairn ; and for avenging the murder of Rhynie's
son, the houses of that party, in the town of Elgin, were
also rifled and burned, by which other houses of the town
were at the same time incidentally destroyed.]
(Survey of the Province of Moray.) [See also Browne's
Hist, of the Highlands, I. 382.]
[The Rev. William Barclay, Minister of the parish from
262 COVENANTERS SLAIN AT THE BATTLE OF AULDEARN.
1814 till the Disi^uption, spent time and money in caring
for ancient gravestones and monuments which were lying
waste in the Churchyard. Among such, he caused to be
re-lettered a Tablet and Tombstone which commemorated
some of the heroic Covenanters who were slain at the
Battle of Auldearn. The Tablet is in the Choir of the old
Church, and has this Inscription : —
This Monument is erected be Sir Kobert Innes, younger of
that ilk, in memorie of Sir Alexander Dromond, of Medhope,
Sir Johne Morray, and Maister Gideon Morray, who lies heir
intered, who, fighting valiantly in defence of their religione,
king, and native countray, died at Auldearn, the 8 May, 1645.
The Tombstone bears this : —
Heir lyeth Captain Bernard M'Kenzie, who, in defence of
his religion and countrie feighting, died at Auldearn, the 8 of
May an. 1645.
I now come to
THE PAEISH OF NAIEN,
In Irish Invernairn. The river Nairn riseth in
the hills between Stratherick and the Braes of
Strathern, and running north-east through the
parishes of Dunlichty and Deviot, it turneth
almost due north, and dischargeth into the Frith
at the town of Nairn, after a course of above 20
miles. It is called Nairn, from the Alder trees
growing on the banks of it. Uisge-Nearn, is the
Water of Alders.
The Town standeth at the mouth of the river
on the west side, and is one street from east to
west. At the east end there is a Bridge of three
arches upon the river, built by William Eose of
Clava in the year 1631* In the middle of the
* [It sustained great damage, first from a flood in 1782, and
KILRAVOCK HOUSE, NAIRN. 263
town standeth the Tolbooth and Town-House ;
and at the west end, Kilravock has a good house
of modern architecture. * A little above the
bridge, on the bank of the river, is the Castle
Hill, where stood a Royal Fort (now quite de-
molished), whereof the Thanes of Calder were
the hereditary constables. Within the flood-
next from the great flood in 1829. An inscription upon a
stone of it, which long ago fell into the river, was Gulielmua
Hose de Clava, with the motto Non est Solus, nisi in Christo :
Soli Deo gloria — i.e., There is no salvation but in Christ : Glory
to God alone.] (ED.)
* In 1711 begin accounts for repairs done on the Kilravock
house in Nairn, where Kilravock younger, or, as he now began
to be styled, Geddes, usually resided. The repairs extended
over several years, and were not completed probably till 1722.
Over the door of this tall, gaunt old house, which has but
comparatively lately been denuded of its quaint • " fore-stair,"
are still legible the Initials of the young laird, and his second
wife, Jean Ross of Broadley, and the date of 1 722, with some
doggerel not inapplicable : —
1 H. E. 7
2 J. R. 2
Omnia terrena per vices sunt aliena,
Nunc mea, nunc hujus, post mortem nescio cujus ;
Nulli certa domus.
Of which a loose scrap among these domestic Papers gives this
translation, " by Mr Allan "-
" Allterrene things by turns we see
Become another's property ;
Mine now must be another's soon ;
I know not whose, when I am gone ;
An earthly house is bound to none."
On the 27th April, 1769, George Munro, clockmaker, Edin-
burgh, advises the Magistrates of Nairn that he has shipped,
by Colonel Hector Munro's orders (their M.P.), a new steeple
clock for the town. He assures them that he has " proved the
clock, and it goes well, and he believes it to be as good a clock
as is in Scotland for its size. (ED.)
264 CHURCH AND LANDS OF NAIRN PARISH.
mark are some vestiges, called the Pier-end ; but
the mouth of the river is now so barred, that no
vessels, but fishing boats for salmon and white
fish, can enter.
The Church standeth on the bank of the river,
2 miles west from Aldearn, 5 miles east from
Ardersier, 3 miles north from Calder, and 4 miles
N.N.E. from Croy. The lands contiguous to the
town are the property of Rose of Kilravock, Rose
of Newton, and Rose of Clava. Mr. Rose of
Clava, in 1768, sold all his lands in Nairn, Croy,
and Ardclach, to Sir Alexander Grant of Dalvey.
Westward on the coast are the lands of Demies,
held, in mortgage, by Alexander Campbell of
Delnies, of the laird of Calder. These were a
part of the Church lands of Ross, and David
Panitar, bishop of Ross, disponed Denlies and
Ardersier, anno 1556, to his brother - uterine
Robert Lesly, from whose son John Campbell of
Calder purchased them in 1575. On the side of
the river, a mile south of the town, is Kildrum-
mie, the seat of Hugh Rose of Brae ; these lands
were sold by Patrick Hepburn Bishop of Moray,
to Hugh Rose of Kilravock, in 1545. (Pen. Kilr.)
On the east side of the river, near the coast, is
Belmakeith, the property of Alexander Dunbar
of Boath, and holding feu of Calder. William
Thane of Calder was infeft in Belmakeith anno
1442 (Pen. Cold.} Next up the river is Braid-
ley. This was, for some generations, the pro-
BARONY OF GEDDES ; RAIT's CASTLE ; CASTLE FINLAY. 265
perty of Rose of Braidley. John Rose, the last
of that family (and father of Jean Rose, late lady
dowager of Kilravock), having no male issue,
sold his lands to Alexander Gordon of Ardach,
from whom they were purchased, about the year
1726, by Hugh Rose of Kilravock. Further up
the river is the Barony of Geddes, the patri-
monial estate of Rose of Kilravock and Geddes
(Vide Rose of Kilravock).
Close by Geddes is Raite Castle. Here is an
•old Fort, built in the form of a square, which
was anciently the seat of Raite of that Ilk, who,
having killed Andrew Thane of Calder about the
year 1404, was banished that county, and founded
the family of Raite of Halgreen in the Mearns.
A part of Raite was Calder's property in 1442
(Pen. Cold.) ; another part of it with Meikle
Geddes, was the property of Ogilvie of Car-
noustie, from whom Sir John Campbell of Calder
made the purchase anno 1432 (Ibid)* South of
Raite lye the lands of Urchany, once a part of
the estate of Park. John Hay of Kinnudie sold
them to Chisholm of Comer, in 1620; and Sir
* Two miles east of Cawdor, and near the House of Geddes
are the ruins of Raits Castle, anciently the seat of the Macin-
toshes of Raits. The castellated part is gone, but a religious
•edifice, apparently of a more modern date than it could have
been, remains. At the south corner it is terminated by a
round Tower (lately formed into a dovecot) resembling those
attached to the bishop's palace at Kirkwall and Spynie. Close
by is a small but interesting vitrified fort, called Castle Finlay.
266 STATE OF PROPERTY IN NAIRN PARISH.
Hugh Campbell of Calder purchased them in
1660.
NAIRN.
[Situation, Soil, Climate. — From the borders of the
parish of Auldearn, Nairn stretches 6 miles westward
along the Frith, and it extends backward into the coun-
try about 8. It is intersected by the river, which
imparts its name to the parish and to the town, denoting
in the Gaelic, the water of oilers ; its banks, to a con-
siderable extent, having been covered with that species
of wood. The ground on the north side of the river
spreads out a level plain to the shore of the Frith ; on
the other it rises in a gentle acclivity, terminating towards
the southern corner in a considerable eminence, named,
from the adjoining lands, the Hill of Urchany. In the
environs of the town, and along the coast, the soil is
sandy ; the same kind of soil is continued on the banks
of the river, but greatly mixed with clay, and the country
on its southern side is of a rich and heavy mould.
State of Property. — The parish is possessed by rive
proprietors, excluding the grounds appertaining to the
community, and the small heritages about the burgh.
Kildrummy and Torrich, part of the estate of Kilravock,
are valued in the Cess-Roll of the county at £273 5s. lid.
Scots. The barony of Geddes and Allanhall are valued
at £412 Os. lid. Scots. The lands of Dalnies, mortgaged
to Mr. Campbell by the family of Cawdor, are valued at
£204 2s. 3d. And Belmakeith, appertaining to Mr. Dun-
bar of Boath, is valued at £129 4s. 3d. The rest of the
country part of the parish appertains to Lord Cawdor,
which, with the salmon-fishery, is valued at £462 5s. 9d.
Scots ; extending the whole valued rent of the parish,
with the valuation of the burgh lands, about £500
Scots, to £1980, 19s. Id. The number of farms are about
50, and of inconsiderable extent, generally not exceeding
£20 sterling of rent, there being only two equal to £50
sterling. In the immediate vicinity of the town, the acre
rents at £1 15s. sterling ; farther distant, from 18s. to £1
10s. ; and in the country, from 5s to £1.
The salmon-fishery on the river (a branch of which is
carried on likewise in the salt water, near its influx,
distinguished by the epithet of still-fishing from the
BURGH CHARTERS OF THE TOWN OF NAIRN. 267
silent mode of conducting it, by a signal, in the smooth
water) is the joint property of Colonel Cuming Gordon of
Altyr and Mr. Davidson of Cantray. It is separately
occupied by their tenants, at the rent of £36 sterling-
from each, and is alternately carried on in the river and
in the sea. Mr. Brodie of Brodie has also a still-fishery
on the east side of the river, at the rent of £S sterling.
There are 6 boats in the town and 2 in the country for
the sea fish, in each of which 7 men are employed. Be-
sides the species of fish got eastward in the Frith already
mentioned, they generally find some herring in every
season, for which they must, however, go as far west a.s
the influx of the Ness. Previous to the year 1782, all
kinds of fish were found in plenty just opposite to the
town ; at present they are sometimes not to be got nearer
than the coasts of Sutherland and Caithness.
The town is pleasantly and commodiously situated on
the west bank of the river, near the shore of the Frith.
The Jail and Town House are on the middle of the street,
from which many narrow lanes extend to the river on
the one side, and to an extensive plain of fertile corn
field, of more than 400 acres on the other. The first
Charter, now extant, is the grant of James VI. in the
year 1589, bearing to be the renewal of a charter by
Alexander I. The revenue of the burgh arises from a
considerable extent of moor, let on various leases to be
improved, by which a considerable increment will in due
time be made. Some feu-duties are likewise derived
from the burgh-lands, and from the tolls of 6 stated Fairs
in the year, and the weekly market. The government of
the burgh is committed to 17 ; the Provost and 3 Bailies,
Dean of Guild, and Treasurer, with 11 Counsellors. As
the gentlemen of the town are not numerous enough for
the requisite annual changes, gentlemen from the country
are admitted into the Magistracy ; but the Bailies, Dean
of Guild, and Cashier, by a late decision of the House of
Peers, must be resident in the town.
The whole Trades are formed into one Incorporation.
State Ecclesiastical. — The Church and Burying-ground
are on the south side of the town, washed by the river.
The stipend, including the allowance for the Communion,
is £32 sterling, and 5 chalders of bear. The right of
patronage appertains to Mr. Brodie of Brodie. The salary
268 ROYAL FORT ; CHAPEL OF GEDDES.
of the parochial school is 16 bolls of bear, and the cus-
tomary perquisites of office. It has been for many years
in a very flourishing state. The number of scholars sent
from all quarters of the country, and some occasionally
from England, is seldom below 80, and often upwards of
100. All the branches of education carried on in the
academies are taught with ability and success. There is
also in the town a school for girls, where the customary
branches of female education are properly conducted; the
salary paid by the community is £10 and a house. The
Roll of the poor amounts to the number of 150. The
provision collected in the Church for their support, about
£8 sterling yearly, and a small sum bearing interest,
admits only of one dividend in the year; but the ex-
tremely needy receive occasional supply. The number of
inhabitants are 2400, of whom about 1100 appertain to
the burgh. There are several families of Antiburgher
Seceders, and a few of the Episcopalian persuasion.
Miscellaneous Infoivmatiofn,. — On the south side of the
town, on the bank of the river, is the Castlehill, where
stood a Royal Fort, of which the Thanes of Cawdor were
hereditary constables till the year 1747. The constabulary
garden is still distinguished as an article of the valuation
of the estate, to the extent of £3 10s. Scots. At a very
remote period of antiquity, the Castle was situated nearer
to the shore, upon the influx of the river ; which, similar
to the Spey and Findhorn, then flowed half a mile farther
westward along the shore than its present termination.
There are some persons still alive who remember to have
seen, at spring-tides, vestiges of its foundation, at present
a considerable way within the bed of the ocean.
The Chapel of the Virgin Mary, built at Geddes in the
year 1220, has ever been the Burial-place of the Family of
Kilravock. The Burial-ground around it is also still in
use. In 1475 Pope Sextus IV. granted a discharge for
100 days Penance for every visit to this Chapel on certain
high Festivals, and also for a certain extent of donation
for the repairs of the building.
The county of Nairn consists of 4 parishes, with some
inconsiderable corners of some that are contiguous of the
county of Inverness. In the representation in Parlia-
ment, it is conjoined with the county of Cromarty, on the
opposite side of the Frith ; each electing their commis-
THE CASTLE AND TOWER OF CALDER. 269
sioner alternately. The office of the Sheriff was hered-
itary in the family of Cawdor till the year 1647, when
it was made a part of the Sheriffdom of Moray. And
with the common County Courts, that also of the Sheriff',
by his Substitute, is regularly maintained in the town.]
(Survey of the Province of Moray.)
Following the course of the river Nairn, I now
come to
THE PAKISH OF CALDEK OK CAWDOR,
So called from Cale, a wood, and Dur, water ;
for here is a fine wood, with a brook of water on
each side of it. The parish is bounded by the
river Nairn to the west, and by the hills towards
the Streins to the south-east.
The Church standeth near the centre, from
north to south, and is a neat little fabric, orna-
mented with a steeple and a clock. A furlong
east from the Church is the House of Calder, the
seat of John Campbell of Calder. The Thanes
of Calder, as constables of the King's house,
resided in the Castle of Nairn, and had a country
seat at what is now called Old Calder, a half-
mile north from the present seat. There they
had a house on a small moat, with a dry ditch
and a drawbridge, the vestiges whereof are to be
seen. But, by a Royal licence, dated 6th August
1454, they built the Tower of Calder that now
standeth. It is built upon a rock of freestone,
washed by a brook to the west, and on the other
sides having a dry ditch, with a draw-bridge.
270 HAWTHORN AND IRON CHEST IN THE VAULT OF CAWDOR.
The Tower stands between two courts of build-
ings. Tradition beareth, that the Thane was
directed in a dream to build the Tower round a
hawthorn-tree on the bank of the brook. Be
this as it will, there is in the lowest vault of the
Tower the trunk of a hawthorn-tree, firm and
sound, growing out of the rock, and reaching to
the top of the vault. Strangers are brought to
stand round it, each one to take a chip of it, and
then to drink to the Haivthorn-tree — i.e., " Pros-
perity to the Family of Calder." This House,
with spacious enclosures, fine gardens, a park of
red deer, and a large wood close by the house,
make a grand and delightful seat.
[The Donjon or Vault is about 10 feet high, and the
Hawthorn reaches to the top. There is no doubt that
the walls must have been built around it. An old iron
chest lies beside the tree, which is said to have borne
the precious burden of gold. Two qther old hawthorn
trees grew within a few score yards, in a line with the
castle — one in the garden, which fell about 80 years
since, and the other at the entrance to the Castle, which
was blown down after a gradual decay, in 1836. Some
suckers are yet fenced. King Duncan's chain-armour
is kept in this vault — if it be correct that he was mur-
dered here, for there are four other localities assigned for
the scene — viz., Glammis Castle, Inverness Castle, and a
hut near Forres, or a hut near Elgin. Some part of the
great Tower of Glammis may be as old as the 13th cen-
tury, but no portion of Cawdor is older than the 15th
century, so that the time when they were built was more
distant from the days of Macbeth on the one side, than
those of Queen Victoria on the other. Indeed, had we
;my actual building of Macbeth's day in Scotland, it
would not be invested with so much tragic gloom, nor
could it so appropriately associate itself with deeds of
KING DUNCAN'S FOUR-POSTED BED ! 271
horror ; for it would probably be made of wicker ware or
slight timber, and be in all respects unfit to represent
the proper stage-properties of a tyrant's stronghold, and
the scene of a Royal murder. Yet, not many years ago,
scepticism was put to utter shame at Cawdor, by being
shewn the identical four-posted bed in which the murder
of King Duncan was committed, of a fashion so old that
no respectable upholsterer of the 19th century, even in
Inverness or Forres, would have tamely submitted to the
scandal of having constructed it. The room, and the
bed within it, were both burned by an accidental fire in
1815 ; thereby depriving all future visitors of so very
interesting an exhibition of traditional identifications.
Shakspere and his commentors, following the autho-
rity of Buchanan, assign Macbeth's Castle at Inverness
as the tragic locale. In the places mentioned (except the
two huts) Macbeth had his strongholds ; as, on his mar-
riage, he became, in right of his wife Gruock, Maormor
or great Celtic lord of Moray ; having by birth the same
power attached to that name in the adjoining county of
Ross. King Duncan was betrayed and slain while re-
siding at one of his nephew's castles, on his way to reduce
Porfin, the Scandinavian Earl of Caithness, to submission ;
he having refused to surrender the customary tribute to
the Scottish Crown. Malcolm (King Duncan's eldest
son, and afterwards called Caenmore, or big-head) fled,
on his father's murder, to England, where he was received
by King Edward the Confessor. He waited at the Eng-
lish Court until the dissensions between the usurper
Macbeth and the Scottish nobles gave him a favourable
opportunity of recovering his inheritance. Then he
sallied forth across the Borders, supported by an English
army of 10,000, under the command of his maternal
grandfather, Siward, Earl of Northumberland. Macbeth's
inveterate foe, the Thane of Fife, raising the standard at
the same time for the lawful monarch, entered Angus-
shire, and encountered and defeated his great enemy near
his own Castle of Dunsinane.
Such is the bare outline of facts on which the deeply
exciting tragedy of Macbeth was reared by Shakspere.
Cawdor Castle is still inhabited — perched upon a low
rock overhanging the bed of a Highland torrent, and
272 CARVED CHIMNEY-PIECE IN CAWDOR CASTLE.
surrounded on all sides by the largest-sized forest trees,
which partly conceal the extent of its park. It stands
a relic of the work of several ages, a weather-beaten
Tower, encircled by comparatively newer and less elevated
dwellings, the whole being enclosed within a moat, and
approachable only by a drawbridge which rattles on its
chains just as in the years long by. The staircase — its
ancient tapestry hanging over secret doors and hidden
passages, the iron-grated doors and wickets, the large
baronial kitchen, partly formed out of the native rock,
the hall, the old furniture, the carved mantel-pieces, the
quantity of figured tapestry, and even the grotesque
family mirrors in use 200 years ago — are still cherished
and preserved by the family. The drawbridge and gate-
way (overtopped by a belfry with bell) are worthy of notice.
In one of the compartments is a carved stone chimney-
piece, having the family arms and several grotesque
figures ; among which are a cat playing the fiddle, a
monkey blowing a horn, a mermaid playing a harp, a
huntsman with hounds pursuing a hare, &c. One of
these rude representations is that of a fox smoking a
tobacco pipe. On the Stone is engraved the date 1510,
when this wing of the Castle was erected. Tobacco was
first introduced into this country by Sir Walter Raleigh
about 1585 ; and it is singular to find the common short
tobacco pipe thus represented at the above period. The
fox holds " the fragrant tube " in his mouth exactly as it
is held by its human admirers, and the implement is such
as may be seen every day with those who patronise the
" cutty pipe."
It is doubtful when the Saxon-like title "Thane of
Cawdor " was first assumed ; but it occurs with the name
of the adjoining Thanedom of Moyness in an authentic
document in 1295. There is no question as to Malcolm
Caenmore having allotted large estates to the English
and Flemish knights who assisted him in recovering his
native possessions, and that they surnamed themselves
after the appellations of the lands thus acquired.
In a charter, still extant in the charter-chest of the
Castle, dated at Forres, 22nd July 1236, in the 22nd year
of the reign of Alexander II., his Majesty grants the lands
of Both and Banchory, in the balliary of Invernarn or
Nairn, " Gilberto Hostiario," which words, by a stupid
BLUNDER BY MISREADING HOSTIARIS FOR HORSTART. 27$
misreading, are marked by a modern scribe on the back
as " Oilberto Horstrat." Upon this mistake, which was
unfortunately copied by Shaw (whose valuable History
we are editing), a ludicrous idea prevailed that the
family name at first was Horse-trot! The charter alluded
to was attested by Walter Fitzallan, the Justiciar of
Scotland ; Walter Comyn (whose family name was after-
wards to be so tragically connected with Scottish his-
tory), Walter Byset (who was the old Norman possessor
of the territories which subsequently belonged to the
Lovat family), Henry Beliol, and Allan Durward. The
charter is in favour of Gilbert Durward or Doreward,
whose Latinised name Ostiarius or Hostiarius in Eng-
lish is Door- ward. The powerful family of Ostiarii, or
hereditary Doorwards of the king, held large possessions
in Mar, and obtained Macbeth's estates in Nairnshire ;
and, probably, by assuming the name of Colder, one of
them came to be regarded as the first Thane of that ilk.
The Thaneage of Calder (now pronounced Cawdor} in-
cluded not only the principal messuage lands, but also
the barony of Ferintosh in Ross, and several parts of
Stratherrick, Strathnairn, and Strathdearn, and a large
portion of the lands of Glammis in the Mearns, all of
which were hence politically, and for several other pur-
poses, considered as pertinents of the SherifFdom of Nairn.
In 1859 a most valuable series of Papers was printed
by the late Earl of Cawdor, titled "The Book of the
Thanes of Cawdor, from 1236 to 1742," pp. 471, issued
by The Spalding Club, and edited by Prof. Cosmo Innes.
Cawdor Castle is indeed a fertile spot for the romantic
and imaginative. The mysteries of Udolpho would
vanish in contemplation of the less perspicuous intricacies
of Cawdor. Immediately beneath the rafters, in one part
of the many artfully contrived secrecies, is pointed out
the concealment of the famous Lord Lovat, who was in
Hight from his pursuers. By means of a ladder the
tourist is conducted by the side of one part of a sloping
roof into a kind of channel between two roofs, such as
frequently serves for conveying rain-water into pipes for
a reservoir. By proceeding along this channel he arrives
at the foot of a stone-staircase, which leads up one side
of the roof to the right, which is so artfully contrived as
to appear a part of the ornaments of the building when
VOL. n. 18
274 CAWDOR CASTLE, CHAPEL, BELL, AND BURIAL-PLACE.
beheld at a distance. At the end of this staircase is a
room with a single window near the floor. Lord Lovat
(it is said) used to be conducted to this place when his
pursuers approached, the ladder being removed as soon
as he ascended. When the search was over, and the
enquirers gone, the ladder was replaced, by which means
his Lordship lived comfortably with the family, and
might long have done so.
It is a pity to put a stumbling-block in the path of
innocent credulity, but Lord Lovat was not found con-
cealed at Cawdor Castle, but far to the west; and, to reach
Cawdor, he must needs leave his own choice fortresses in
the wilds of Inverness, and pass through a territory
bristling with Royal troops. Was this likely ?
Attached to the residences of the Thanes of Old Caw-
dor was a Chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary,
and the Chaplain of Cawdor, or " the Thane's Chaplain,"
appears as a witness in early documents. When the
new Castle was built, a Chapel was included in it. In
the same year (1467) with the induction of Sir Walter of
Tarbett in the Chapelry of the Castle, his patron William,
Thane of Cawdor, died. The Castle-Chapel is said to
have stood on the south side of the Tower.
An ancient Bell, like " the Ronnell " of Birnie, of square
shape, of hammered iron, clasped with nails, is still pre-
served at Cawdor, the only relic of the old Castle Chapel.
It is 13 inches high, including the square iron handle.
The Cawdors of old buried at Barevan. The walls of
the old Church are still comparatively entire, though the
chiselled stones have been mostly taken away. The
style is of the First Pointed, without cusp. One window
on the south of the choir is curious, from the top of the
arches and of the mullion being formed of a single stone.
It has been a double lancet outside, and semi-circular
arched inside. The dimensions of Barevan Church inside
are about 65 feet long by 17 feet broad. There is a plain
Piscina under an arch at the south side, as usual, where
the Altar stood. There are many old Gravestones, and
there is one row right across the Church, where the Choir
and Nave joined, having no inscriptions nor arms.
The following occurs in an Indenture, of date the 30th
November, 1725 : — " As to the Church of Colder, which
OLD CHURCH OF CALDER ; BARRIVAN SEPULCHRE. 2?5
was built by Sir Hugh Campbell's grandfather, Sir John,
being the only heritor ex'cept Ross of Holme, a small
heritor ; the roof thereof is entirely rott and many of the
slate fallen off, never being repaired since the erection
thereof, except three or four couples furnisht in Sir
Hugh's time, when the pricket or top of the steeple was
by storm blown over and broke these couples ; needs to
be immediately repaired, and will cost double the money
if it is delayed ane other year. The sacrament not being
administrat for the years 1722-25, Sir Archibald has
retained the element money, which, being yearly £50
Scots, amounts to £150, and proposes that the said sum
be applyed in the first place towards the repair, which he
shall finish as effectually and frugally as possible.
" The families new buriall place, which lyes under that
part betwixt the steeple and the body of the Church, is
much abused, and like to goe to ruin altogether by the
insufficient roof of the Church ; and the old burial place
called Barrivan, of the Thanes, and all the Campbells of
Calder who dyed in the north preceding Sir Hugh's time,
where formerly the old Kirk of Calder was, likewise
needs to be repaired, which Sir Archibald conceives may
be done for £10 sterline, which he expects the commis-
sioners will comply with, for the honour and memory of
the family
" Sir Archibald has sett up a handsome large clock in
the steeple of the Church of Calder."] (ED.)
A small pendicle in the south of the parish,
called Drumurnie, is the property of Rose of
Holm. The lands of Meikle Budzeat, west of
the Church, the lands of Torrich, a mile to the
east, and the lands of Clunies two miles to the
south-east, are mortgages pertaining to the
descendants of this family, and all holding of
Calder.
CALDER.
[Situation, Soil, Climate. — Calder, derived from the
Gaelic coil, wood, and dur, water, is connected with
276 STATE OF PROPERTY IN CALDER PARISH.
Nairn on the north, and Croy on the south. It meets
with Auldearn and Ardclach at the east, and extends
southward to the confines of Moy and Duthil. It»
southern quarter is enlivened by the river Findhorn, and
part of its northern side by that of the Nairn, to which
the stream of Calder, partly in a deep rocky channel,
thickly shrouded with wood, a variety of forest trees,
hastens from the west. The flat plain of the lower part
of the parish, as it stretches southward, rises into a hilly
tract, and elevates its boundary with Moy into a lofty
mountain. The soil, in general neither wet nor deep,
may be described as kindly, sharp and fertile, diversified
in the lower part with plots of moorish and rocky ground;
in the higher it is more generally brown heath, covering
extensive tracts of the peat morass. The air is accounted
remarkably salubrious.
State of Property. — The parish, chiefly in the county
of Nairn, with a small part in that of Inverness, extends
its total valuation to the sum of £1963 12s. Scots, of
which the property of Lord Cawdor, comprehending
Auchendune, Torrich, Inchgeddle, and Streens, amounts
to the valuation of £1565 12s. lOd. This is the family-
seat and original residence of the ancient Thanes.
Similar to the Mansion of Kilravock, a modern building
has been conjoined to an ancient Tower, built by Royal
licence in the year 1454, guarded on the west by the
deep rocky defile of the stream of Cawdor, and sur-
rounded on -the other sides by a ditch and drawbridge.
The environs, it has been noticed, as its name imports, are
naturally embellished by the landscape scenery of wood
and water; and they have been also improved by the
decorations of art. In the lowest vault of the Tower, the
trunk of a hawthorn tree still stands in the original
station where it grew out of the rock, over which tradition
relates that a dream, directing the situation of the fabric,
promised prosperity to the race whilst it should remain.
The lands of Clunes and Torbey, mortgaged to Dr.
Campbell, are valued at £114 7s. 2d., to which the valua-
tion of his estate of Budzeat, in the county of Inverness,
of £160 Scots, is also to be added. Mr. Rose of Holm
has Drumurnie, valued in the whole at £123 12s., of
which a part, amounting to £50, appertains to the county
of Inverness. The real rent may be at present estimated
BORIVON THE OLD NAME OF CALDER PARISH. 277
about £1200 sterling, aiising from about 4500 cultivated
acres, rented from 2s. 6d. to 15s. the acre ; to these are
conjoined about 3500 under wood, broom, and natural
pasturage; the remainder is moor and mountain peat,
about 18,000. The extent of the farms are from 40 to
100 acres ; and about 70 ploughs are employed in their
cultivation.
State Ecclesiastical. — The old name of the parish was
Borivon, properly Bar Ewan ; literally denoting Ewan's
height, or high country; and figuratively excellent, or
St. Ewan, to whom the parsonage was dedicated. The
Church originally stood in the southern or highest quar-
ter of the parish, till about the year 1619; and 30 years
after it was moved into its present central station, a wing
from the parish of Auldearn was annexed at the east.
The value of the living, including 20 bolls of bear and 20
of meal, is equal to £80 sterling. The right of patronage
appertains to Lord Cawdor. The salary of the school is
8 bolls of bear and 8 of meal, and £1 5s. as the Clerk of
the Session, with the official perquisites, and the dues of
education from about 50 scholars, the mean number
through the year. The poor upon the roll amount to 40,
and the provision for their necessities about £12 yearly,
arising from the contribution, of 850 persons, the members
of the National Church ; there being only one Episcopa-
lian and one Seceder in the parish.
Miscellaneous Information. — The people in general
are humane, moral, and religious, there being few law-
suits or quarrels among them ; they are very industrious.
They dispose of a considerable quantity of victual at
Inverness, Nairn, and Fort George, where their fat cattle
and sheep are likewise sold ; they discover no propensity
for the military life, in which, or in the navy, very few
engage ; they are contented with their situation, and dis-
cover no desire to leave the parish, although every other
year a few lads, as adventurers, apprentices, or servants,
seek their fortunes in Edinburgh, London, or America ;
they complain of the uncertainty of their leases; and
they are troubled by the caprice, wantonness, and extra-
vagance of the farm-servants.] (Survey of the Province
of Moray.)
278 THE THANEDOM OF CALDER.
I shall here give some account of
THE FAMILY OF CALDEB.
The surname of Calder is local, taken from the
place ; and the family has been among the most
ancient and the most considerable in the North.
About the year 1040, the tyrant Macbeth cut off
the Thane of Nairn (Buchanan). This, no doubt,
was the Thane of Calder ; for no history or tradi-
tion mentioneth a Thane of Nairn, distinct from
the Thane of Calder, who, as Constable, resided
in that town ; and Mr. Heylin, in his Geography,
expressly calleth him Thane of Calder. But not
to deal in uncertainties, (1) Dovenaldus Thanus
de Calder was one of the estimators of the
Baronies of Kilravock and Geddes, anno 1295.
His son (2) William had from King Robert
Bruce, 7mo Augusti anno regni 4to 1310,
" Thanageum de Kaledor, infra vicecomitatum
de Inner Nairn, propter servitia debita et assueta
tempore Alexandri Regis predecessoris nostri
ultimo defuncti," * (Pen. Cold.) His son (3)
Andrew was killed by Sir Alexander Raite,
whose son (4) Donald was served heir to his
father, Andrew, in 1405, and saised in the offices
of Sheriff and Constable of Nairn in 1406 (Ibid.)
He purchased the lands of Dunmaglass from
•* Translation — The Thanedom of Calder, Constable of Inner
Nairn, on account of services due and assuetudes in the time
of King Alexander, our last defunct predecessor.
GENEALOGY OF THE FAMILY OF CALDER. 279
William Menzies of Balwhonzie in 1414 ; the
lands of Moy, in Moray, from the Earl of Boss,
in 1419 ; and Urchany-beg, in Calder, from
Henry, Bishop of Moray, in 1421 (Ibid.) His
son (5) William was in 1442 infeft in the Thane^
age of Calder, the Sheriffship and Constableship
of Nairn, in Boath, Benchir, half of Raite, and
six merks out of Belmakeith (Pen. Cald.) In
1450, he built the Tower of Calder by a
royal licence. His son (6) William, in 1471,
bought from Andrew Lesly, master of the Hos-
pital of Spey, with consent of the Bishop of
Moray, the Mill of Nairn, with its pertinents
(Ibid.) ; and in 1476, the Thaneage of Calder,
Baronies of Clunie and Boath, Belmakeith, half
of Eaite, Moy, Dunmaglass, two Kinkells, Kin-
dess, Invermarkie, Mulchoich, Drumurnie, Ferin-
tosh, &c., were united in one Thaneage, and such
lands as lie in Inverness or Forres shires, to-
answer to the Sheriff Court of Nairn (Ibid.)
Hence Ferintosh, Moy, Dunmaglass, are a part
of the shire of Nairn.
This Thane had five sons, viz., William, John,
Andrew, Alexander, and Hutcheon, on whom he
entailed his estate, allowing the immediate suc-
cession to John, to which William (who was lame
and weak) consented, and had .£20 annually and
the vicarage of Ewan. All this was settled
by charter anno 1488 (Ibid.). This Thane lived
to about the year 1500 ; his son (7) John married
280 MURIEL CALDER MARKED BY HER GRANDMOTHER.
Isabel Rose, daughter of Kilravock, in 1492 (Pen.
Rilr.), and dying in 1494, left one posthumous
child, a daughter (8), Muriel or Marion. Kil-
ravock intended this heiress for his own grand-
son, her first cousin ; but Kilravock being
pursued in a criminal process for robbery, in
joining Macintosh in spoiling the lands of Urqu-
hart of Cromarty, Argyle, the Justice-General,
made the process easy to him, got the Ward
of Muriel's marriage of the King anno 1495, and
she was sent to Inverary in the year 1499.
(Penn. Kilr.).
In autumn, 1499, Campbell of Inverliver, with
60 men, came to receive the child, on pretence of
sending her south to school. The lady Kil-
ravock, her grandmother, that she might not be
changed, seared and marked her hip with the
key of her coffer. As Inverliver came with little
Muriel to Daltulich, in Strath Nairn, he was
01ose pursued by Alexander and Hugh Calder,
her uncles, with a superior party. He sent off
the child with an escort of six men, faced about
to receive the Calders; and to deceive them, a
sheaf of corn, dressed in some of the child's
clothes, was kept by one in the rear. The con-
flict was sharp, and several were killed, among
whom were six of Inverliver's sons. When Inver-
liver thought the child was out of reach, he
retreated, leaving the fictitious child to the Cal-
ders; and Inverliver was rewarded with a grant
MURIEL MARRIED TO SIR JOHN CAMPBELL. 281
of the £20 land of Inverliver. It is said that, in
the heat of the skirmish, Inverliver cried, " Sfada
glaodh o' Lochow, 'Sfada cabhair o' chlan
Dhuine," i.e., " 'Tis a far cry to Lochaw, and a
distant help to the Campbells " —now a proverb,
signifying imminent danger and distant relief.
All this I give on tradition. %
Muriel was married in 1510 to Sir John Camp-
bell, third son of Argyle, in memory of which, in
the old Hall of the House of Calder, is cut S. I. C.
and D. M. C., with this inscription, " Ceri mani
memineris mane." (1) Sir John Campbell of
Calder, in 1533, purchased from John Ogilvie of
Carnousie, Meikle Geddes, Raite, and the Fort of
it (Pen. Cald.), and in 1535 purchased from
David, Earl of Crawford, the Barony of Strath
Nairn, Fortalice of Castle Davie, and the patron-
age of Lundichty, now Dunlichty (Ibid.) ; and in
1545 he bought, from Patrick, Bishop of Moray,
the lands of Fleenessmore (Ibid.). He died in
1546 ; and his son (2) Archibald married Isabel,
the daughter of the Laird of Grant ; and dying
in 1553, his son (3) John purchased Ardersier and
Delnies (Vid. Nairn Parish), and was murdered
in 1592 by Lochinel's brother. His son (4) Sir
John got from the Earl of Moray a renunciation,
&c. (Vid. Daviot Par.). He purchased the
Baronies of Durris and Borlum (Vid. Dur. Par.),
and in 1609 took a charter of Little Budzet,
Little Urchany, and Croy, from Alexander,
282 CAMPBELTOWN ERECTED INTO A BURGH.
Bishop of Moray (Ibid.) ; but in 1614 he feued
out Delmigvie and Holm. In 1617 he sold
Croy to William Dallas of Cantray, and in the
same year disponed Ferintosh to Lord Lovat,
and mortgaged other lands ; and all this in order
to purchase, or rather to conquer the island
of Hay. His son, by Glenurchie's daughter (5),
John Dow, had all his lands in the North, by a
charter under the Great Seal, anno 1623, erected
into a Barony called the Borough of Camp-
belltown, with power to create Bailies, Con-
stables, Serjeants, and other officers; liberty
to have a town-house and a market-cross, a
weekly market on Wednesday, and a fair to
begin on July 15th and to hold eight days ; and
that all infeftments may be taken at the Castle
of Calder (Ibid.) Lord Torphichen had some
Temple-lands in Ardersier, which he sold to Mr.
Thomas Bollock, advocate, with the office of
heritable bailie and a privilege of regality, which
he disponed to Calder in 1626 (Ibid.). In 1626,
Calder granted the feu of Dunmaglas to Fer-
quhard Mac-Gillivray ; and in 1639 he disponed
all his lands in favour of his eldest son (by
Cromarty's daughter), viz., Colin. I find that
this John was seized with melancholy in 1639,
and was yet living in 1650. His son (6) Colin
died at the University of Glasgow a bachelor,
and was succeeded by (7) Sir Hugh, son of Colin
of Boghol, who was brother to the last John.
RAIT CASTLE BOUGHT FROM SIE JOHN ILAY. 283
This gentleman purchased Moyness and Ur-
chany, as formerly observed. In 1678 he pur-
chased Kaite Castle and E-aite Lone from John
Hay of Lochloy, and redeemed some mortgages ;
but mortgaged other lands, and feued out Kin-
chyle in 1685. In 1688 he disponed his whole
estate in favour of his son, reserving the life-rent
of his estate in the North ; and died in 1716.
His son, by Lady Henriet Stewart (8), Sir Alex-
ander, married Elizabeth, sister to Sir Gilbert,
Lord of Stackpole, in South Wales, and died in
1700. His eldest son (9), Gilbert, died in 1708,
and was succeeded by his brother (10), John
Campbell, now of Calder, born in 1695 ; he sold
Hay and Muckarn, to disburden his estate of
debt. He married Mary Pryce, heiress of Go-
girthen, in North Wales, by whom he has three
sons and three daughters. The first daughter,
Ann, married Lord Fortescue, Mary died un-
married, and Elizabeth married Captain Adams.
Pryce, the eldest son, married in 1752 Sarah
Bacon, daughter of Sir Edmund of Garboldisham,
first Baronet of England, and dying in 1768, left
four sons, viz., John, Alexander, George, and
Charles ; and three daughters, Mary, Sarah, and
Henrietta. John, the second son, was in 1754
appointed Lord Lyon for Scotland. He married
Eustachia, daughter of Baffet of Heaton. Alex-
ander, the third son, is a Lieutenant-Colonel, and
married Francess, daughter of Philip Meadows.
284 THE FAMILY OF CALDER.
[Pryce Campbell having died during his father's life-
time, his son (11) John Campbell succeeded his grand-
father, and was created a British peer by the title of Lord
Cawdor. He married Lady Caroline, daughter of the
Earl of Carlisle, by whom he had two sons — John
Frederick and George Pryce, an Admiral in the Royal
Navy, who married Miss Gascoygne, daughter of General
Gascoygne, M.P. for Liverpool. John Campbell died in
1821, and was succeeded by his eldest son (12), John
Frederick (Lord Cawdor), who, in 1816, married Lady
Elizabeth, daughter of the Marquis of Bath, by whom
there was issue.
The present representative is Sir William Henry
Walsingham Calder, Bart., of Muirtown (cr. 1686), only
surviving son of the late Sir Henry Roddam Calder, by
Lady Frances Selina, daughter of Edward Henry, 1st
Earl of Limerick; born 1820; succeeded as 6th Baronet,
1868 ; married 1842 Julia, daughter of Julius Hutchinson,
Esq. She died 1876. Residence — Craven Lodge, Melton
Mowbray.] (ED.)
Arms of the Family of Calder. Four Coats Quarterly. 1st,
Or. A Hart's Head cabossed Sable, attired Gules, for Calder.
2nd, Gyronne of eight, Or, and Sable, for Campbell. 3rd,
Argent, a Galley with her Oars in action Sable, for Lorn. 4th,
Parted, per Fess, Azure, and Gules, a Cross Or, for the name
of Lort. Crest, a Swan proper crowned Or. Supporters, on
the Dexter, a Lion rampant Guardant Gules, armed Or. And
on the Sinister, a Heart proper. Motto above the Crest,
CANDIDUS CANTABIT MORIENS, [The Swan will sing while
dying.] And below the Shield, BE MINDFUL.
THE PAEISH OF CBOY
Is next above Calder, on both sides of the
river. It stretcheth 12 miles in length on the
west side of the river, and 4 miles on the east
side, and is generally 2 miles in breadth.
The Church standeth on the west side, a mile
from the river, 4 miles west from Nairn, 2 miles
west-north-west from Calder, 3 south-east from
WRITS OF ROSE OF KILRAVOCK BURNED. 285
Petty, and 4 north from Deviot. The north
part of this parish, to the west of the river,
viz., Kildrummie, Flemington, and the Baronie
of Kilravock, are a part of the estate of that
family.
EOSE OF KILRAVOCK.
The surname of Eose cometh from the Hebrew,
Bosh, a Head, and Rhos or JRos, signifying a pro-
montory or headland jutting out into water. In
many nations, places are called Eose, or com-
pounded with it. And the country be-north
Inverness is called Eoss, because it stretcheth
out into the sea. I question not but Ross, Earl
of Eoss, , took his surname from the country.
But Kilravock' s family being descended of the
Eosses in the south country (as their paternal
arms show), and the name being anciently writ-
ten de Roos, which we found much as Eose, they
have changed Eoos into Eose, to distinguish
them from the Earl of Eoss's family. And
yet I have found this family in ancient writs
called Eoos, Eoss, Eosse, Eose.
Had not the writings of this family been
destroyed (as we shall see) in the burning of the
Cathedral of Moray in 1390, few families could
have better instructed their antiquity ; and, even
with that misfortune, few can exceed it. The
Barony of Geddes, in the parish of Nairn, was
their ancient inheritance. Hugo de Eoos Domi-
nus de Geddes is a witness in the foundation
286 HUGH ROSE, THE FIRST OF KILRAVOCK.
charter of the Priory of Beaulie, anno 1230
(M.S. Hist. Kilr.). Sir John Bisset of Lovat
had three daughters, co-heiresses, viz., Mary
Domina de Lovat. married to Sir David Graham ;
Cecilia Domina de Beaufort, wife of Sir William
of Fenton ; and Elizabeth Domina de Kilravock,
married to Sir Andrew de Bosco (Wood) of Bed
Castle ; and Mary, daughter of Sir Andrew, was
married to (1) Hugh Rose Baron of Geddes, and
she and her husband obtained a charter of the
barony of Kilravock from King John Baliol anno
1293 (Pen. Kilr.) ; and in 1295, the baronies of
Kilravock and Geddes were estimated by an
inquest, the first to £24, and the other to £12
yearly rent (Chart Kilravock) . [Hugh Kose, first
of Kilravock, died in or about 1306.] Their son
(2) William married Morella, daughter of Alex-
ander de Downe, and had Hugh and Andrew, of
whom came Rose of Achlofnn in Mar [This Sir
William, second of Kilravock, died in 1333.]
(3) Hugh II. died about 1363 ; his son (4) Hugh
III. married Janet, only child of Sir Eobert
Chisholm, Constable of the Castle of Urquhart
anno 1364, and with her he got the lands of
Cantra-na-bruich in Strathnairn (Ibid.) He died
about 1388. His son (5) Hugh IV. died in 1420,
whose son (6) John obtained a charter of de Nova
Damus under the Great Seal, 30th May, 1433,
"pro eo, quod Chartae suae, tempore combustionis
EcclesiaB de Elgin, in Ecclesise praedicta fuerunt
THE FACETIOUS HUGH, THE EIGHTH OF KILRAVOCK. 287
vastatse et destructse." * (Ibid.) He got from
his grand-uncle, John Chisholm, the lands of
Little Cantray and Ochterurchil, in 1480 (Ibid.)
[John Eose of Kilravock died in or about 1454.]
His son, by Isabel Cheyn, daughter of Essilmont,
was (7) Hugh V. who, in 1482, purchased the
lands of Coulmore in Eoss (Ibid.) He married
More or Marion, daughter of [Malcolm Begg]
Macintosh [Captain of the Clanchattan] ; his
second son Alexander founded the family of
Holm : Hugh died in 1494 ; and his eldest son
(8) Hugh VI., by Margaret Gordon, daughter of
Huntly, had Hugh; John, progenitor of the
Eosses of Bellivat; and Alexander, of whom
came the family of Insh in the Garioch, and
died in 1517. (9) Hugh VII., by Agnes Urqu-
hart, daughter of [Alexander Urquhart of] Cro-
marty, had Hugh and John of Wester Drakies
[30th Dec. 1546 ?], and died anno 1543 [also 9
daughters]. (10) Hugh VIII. purchased from
Bishop Hepburn, in 1545, the lands of Kildruin-
mie, Couhnonie, and Daltulich. His facetious
humour appeareth in a submission between him
and two neighbours, his subscription to which is,
" Hutcheon Eose of Kilravock, an honest man ill
guided between you baith." He died in 1597
[June 10], leaving, by Catharine, daughter of
* Translation — Because at the time of the burning of the
Church of Elgin his title-deeds were scattered and destroyed
in the foresaid Church.
288 HUGH ROSE, THE TWELFTH, FIVE TIMES MARRIED.
Hawkerton, [eight daughters and] a son (11)
William II., who, by Lilias Hay, daughter of
Dalgatie, had Hugh, William of Clava, John of
Braidley, and David of Earlsmiln, and died [8th
April] 1611. (12) Hugh IX. purchased Fleming-
ton from the Earl of Moray in 1639 ; he married
Magdalene Frazer, daughter of Strichen, and
died in [June] 1643. His son (13) Hugh X.
married [Margaret] a daughter of [Sir John] Sin-
clair of Dunbeth [and Christian Mowat of the
family of Bulquhollie], who brought him Hugh
and John, of whom is Hiltoun, and he died in
[March] 1649. [This Lady Kilravock brought a
portion of £10,000 into the family. She died in
November 1654.] (14) Hugh XI. [succeeded
when 8 years old] purchased Kinudie, &c, (Vide
Aldearn Parish), sold Coulmore, and purchased
Couless and Earichees in Ross anno 1681 (Ibid.)
By Margaret, daughter of Innes of that ilk, he
had Hugh his successor, and other sons. (15)
Hugh XII. [born in the House of Innes in Jan.
1663, was 24 years old at his father's death]
added to his estate the Barony of Muirton, near
Kinloss, and the lands of Brae in Ross. He was
five times married ; 1st, with Margaret, daughter
of Sir Hugh Campbell of Calder, by whom he
had a son Hugh, and two daughters — Henrietta^
married to Sir John MacKenzie of Coul, and
Mary, to Duncan Forbes of Culloden, afterwards
Lord President; 2nd, Joan, only child of Mr.
HUGH XIII. ROSE OF KILRA.VOCK. 289
James Fraser of Brae, and had by her a son,
James of Brae [She died in 1699]; 3rd, Jean
[Magdalene ?], daughter of [George] Cuthbert of
Castlehill, who brought him Magdalene, married
to MacKenzie of Dachmahiack, and Jean, to-
Eobertson of Glasgoego; 4th, Elizabeth, daughter
of Sir James Calder of Muirton, who had Mar-
garet, married to Sir Charles Campbell, son of
Sir Archibald [By this marriage about 1704,.
there was a numerous issue, who all died in in-
fancy, except Margaret, married in 1730 to-
Charles Campbell of Clunes] ; 5th, Katharine,,
daughter of James Porteous of Inverness, who-
left two sons, Arthur and Alexander. He died
[23] January 1732. [He was buried in the
Chapel of Geddes, aet. 62].
Hugh XIII. sold the lands of Brae, in Ross, and pur-
chased Broadley, near Nairn. He married, 1st, Elizabeth,
daughter of Sir Ludovick Grant of Grant, by whom he
had two sons, Hugh, his heir, born in 1705, and Lewis of
Coulmony. He married, 2nd, Jean, eldest daughter of
Hugh Rose of Broadley, by whom he had two sons and
six daughters. His sons were John and George, who^
both died officers in the army ; and his daughters, Mar-
garet, married to John Mackenzie, M.D., Edinburgh ;
Henrietta, married to Sir William Dunbar of Hempriggs,,
Baronet; Anne, married to Sir Henry Munro of Fowlis,
Baronet — all of whom had issue; Alexandrina; Jean,,
married to Duncan Ross of Kindeace, in Ross-shire ; and
Caroline, married to Major Brodie. He died 28th May
1755, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Hugh XIV.,*
* On the day previous to the memorable battle of Culloden,
the Duke of Cumberland, having halted with his army at
Nairn, lodged in the house of Hugh Rose of Kilravock, who
was then Provost of that ancient burgh, and whose loyalty and
VOL. II. 19
290 HUGH (XIV.) ROSE MARRIES MISS CLEPHANE.
born in 1705, who was bred to the Law, and was
Sheriff-Depute of Koss and Cromarty. In 1739 he
married Elizabeth, daughter of Colonel William Clep-
hane, nephew of Clephane of Carslogie, in Fifeshire, by
whom he had three sons and a daughter — viz., Hugh, his
heir, born llth March 1740 ; William, who was Captain
in the Sutherland Fencibles, and died, unmarried, in
1772 ; John, who was a wine merchant in London, and
died, unmarried, in 1767 ; and Elizabeth, born 19th
March 174-7. He was a very literary character, and
added greatly to the library of Kilravock — particularly
attachment to the cause of King George the Second is attested
by the following inscription on a porter cup, preserved in the
old Castle of Kilravock — " This cup belongs to the Provost of
Nairn, 1746, the year of our deliverance. A bumper to the
Duke of Cumberland."
About two o'clock of the same day, an officer from Prince
Charles Stuart arrived at Kilravock, to announce that it was
the intention of the Prince to dine that day at the Castle. Mr.
Rose and his lady made the best preparation that the shortness
of the time admitted for the reception of so illustrious and unex-
pected a guest ; and in about an hour after the Prince reached
the Castle, attended by a numerous retinue of gentlemen, many
of whom were French. The manners and deportment of the
Prince on this occasion were described by Mr. Rose and his
lady as having been most engaging. He asked the number of
Mr. Rose's children, and, on being told three sons, he requested
to see them, praised their looks, and kissed each of them on
the forehead. Having walked (out with Mr. Rose previous to
dinner, and observed several people engaged in planting those
trees which now adorn the ancient family seat of the Roses, he
remarked, " How happy must you be, Mr. Rose, in being thus
peacefully engaged, when the whole country around you is in
a stir.'
Mr. Rose, who was a capital performer, having taken up the
violin and played an Italian minuet, said to the Prince, " That,
if I mistake not, is a favourite of your Royal Highness." " That
it is a favourite of mine, Mr. Rose, is certain, but how you
came to know that it is so, I am quite at a loss to guess."
"That, sir," replied Mr. Rose, "may serve to show you that what-
ever people of your rank do or say is sure to be remarked."
" I thank you," said the Prince, "for that observation."
Prince Charles, his secretary Mr. Kay, and Mr. and Mrs.
Rose dined together, in what is now the parlour of the old
PRINCE CHARLIE DINES AT KILRAVOCK CASTLE. 291
some of the best editions of the Classics, which he pur-
chased in Holland. He died at 67, at Kilravock House,
on the 26th November, and was interred in the family
burial-place, 1772. He was succeeded by his eldest
son (18) Hugh XV., who was also bred to the Law, and
passed as Advocate, but never practised. He was a
highly - accomplished gentleman and scholar, was ex-
tremely fond of field sports, and reckoned one of the best
shots in Britain. He was also a first-rate performer on
the violin ; indeed, the whole Kilravock family were
celebrated for their musical talents. In 1773 he married
Anne Fraser* of Inverness; but, she dying without
Castle, while forty of the Prince's attendants dined in a large
hall adjoining. Between these two rooms there is a short
passage, in which two of the Prince's officers stood with drawn
swords while he was at dinner. When the cloth was removed
Mr. Rose proposed to the Prince that he would allow those
gentlemen to go to dine, adding " Your Royal Highness may
be satisfied that you are perfectly safe in this house." To
which he replied, " I know, Sir, that I am safe here ; you can
desire them to go to dinner."
A large and very handsome China bowl, capable of contain-
ing as much as sixteen ordinary bottles, is still preserved at
the Castle of Kilravock. This bowl Mr. Kay greatly admired,
and said that he would like to see it filled. In consequence, im-
mediately after dinner, the bowl, filled with good whisky-punch,
was placed on the Prince's table. After drinking a few glasses
of wine Prince Charles rose to depart, as did also Mr. Kay ;
but the Prince, good-humouredly, said, " No, no, Kay, since
you have challenged that bowl, you must stay to see it out."
Kay, however, took only a glass, and accompanied his master
to Culloden, where they slept.
Next day the Duke of Cumberland stopped on his march at
the gate of Kilravock Castle, and Mr. Rose having gone out to
receive him, the Duke said, " So I understand you had my
cousin, Charles, here yesterday." " Yes, please your Royal
Highness." replied Mr. Rose, " not having an armed force, I
could not prevent his visit." " You did perfectly right," said
the Duke, " and I entirely approve of your conduct." So
saying, he rode on to the moor of Culloden.
* She was a girl of low birth, albeit captivating in propor-
tions. Such wedlock, of course, brought sorrow and dissension
into the family. Pamella did not carry her honours meekly.
The old proverb held true as to the beggar and the horse, or
292 HUGH (XV.) ROSE MARRIES ANNE FRASER.
issue in 1782, a long law-suit followed betwixt his sister
Elizabeth, who claimed, as heir-of-line, and James Rose,
son of Dr. Hugh Rose, by his first wife, Margaret Russel,
who claimed, as heir-male to the late Kilravock. After
a protracted litigation of five years' duration, Mrs. Rose,
having appealed to the House of Lords, their Lordships,
on the 2nd April 1787, gave judgment, deciding all the
material points in favour of Mrs. Rose. By this decision
she succeeded to the Barony of Kilravock, and the lands
of Kildrummie and Easter Torrich, while James Rose
was found entitled to the lands of Geddes and Fleming-
town, and the patronage of Moy and vice-patronage of
Croy.
[Mrs. Elizabeth Rose, born 1747, was a great letter-
writer, and she copied drafts of her correspondence. She
kept a common-place book for many years, and she fol-
lowed what in her days was a general practice, especially
with " Blue-stockings," of spending time in copying large
extracts from books. She kept a Journal from 1771 till
the year of her death, 1815. Volumes of MSS. were filled
with plans, contemplations, thoughts, and botherations.
The overflowings of a naturally cheery lady develope in
scribbling into a sentimental lachrymose. She sung the
airs of her country, and she learnt from her father to
take her part in catches and glees. She played the violin
like male artistes, supported against her shoulder. The
spinet and guitar were her companions in all her changes of
abode and fortune. The Papers of Kilravock, published
by "the Spalding Club," abound in various pleasantries
about this accomplished heiress of Kilravock. The family
adhered to the Nonjurors. In her "Book of Medita-
tions," dated Easter week, 1774, she pens: — "I passed
the eve of Good Friday in tumults of soul. Next morn-
rather the grey mare became the lest horse. She was insinuating,
however, and she and her husband became favourites in certain
great houses — especially with Jane, Duchess of Gordon, " the
Cock o' the North " in those days. The false step, notwith-
standing, had its usual consequents. The parvenue Lady
Kilravock has a monument in the Chapel of Geddes, which
records that "she died 8th day of August 1837, in the 90th
year of her age ; and as a small mark of esteem, affection, and
gratitude, this stone is erected by her attached friend Mary
Scott." (ED.)
MRS. ELIZ. ROSE THE ACCOMPLISHED HEIRESS. 293
ing I ventured to the chapel, and found myself soothed
by the Divine worship. Next day was the preparation
for the Communion in the Parish Church, and though of
another persuasion, I thought my time would be well
bestowed in hearing a discourse suitable to the work I
had in hand." She corresponded with Burns ; for what
lady of such metal at the time did not ? "] (ED.)
In 1779 she married Dr. Hugh Rose of Broadley, who
died in 1780, and by whom she had an only son, Hugh,
born February 8, 1781. After the death of her husband
she removed from Forres to Nairn, where she resided, in
the Kilravock house, with her mother, for some years ;
but, on her accession to the estate, she and her mother
took possession of Kilravock Castle, where she devoted
much of her time to the improvement of the remains of
the once extensive possessions of her ancestors — though
harassed by two very tedious and expensive law-pleas.
She planted nearly 1000 acres of moor ground with
Scotch fir and larch, which, in the course of a few years,
will add greatly to the value of the property. She en-
closed with substantial fences, and drained several exten-
sive farms ; and by her influence over the tenantry, with
whom she was, deservedly, very popular, she persuaded
them to build comfortable houses, with suitable farm-
steadings. She also drained, at a very considerable
expense, great part of the Loch of Clans, formerly an
extensive lake, in the hope of finding marl in it, and,
though in this she was disappointed, it has added nearly
100 acres to the estate, which, by proper culture, will
soon become of much value.
On the death of Mrs. Rose, in November 1815, she was
succeeded by her eldest son, Hugh XVI., who served for
some years as Lieutenant-Colonel of the Inverness-shire
regiment of militia during the late war, and afterwards
commanded the local militia of the county of Nairn, of
which he is at present vice-lieutenant. He married, 1st,
Catherine, daughter of Colonel John Baillie of Dunain,
by whom he had three sons and four daughters — viz.,
Hugh, John, Ensign in the 50th regiment of Foot;
George, Isabella, Elizabeth, Margaret, and Catherine
Duff. He married, 2nd, Catherine, daughter of James
Macintosh, Esq. of Farr, by whom he had three sons and
three daughters — viz., James, William, Wellington (born
294 OLD CASTLE, TOWER AND GATE OF KILRAVOCK.
on the ever-memorable 18th of June), Anne Fraser,
Harriet, and Caroline.
[Major James Rose of Kilravock, only surviving son of
the late Hugh Rose, by his 2nd wife, Catherine, daughter
of James Macintosh of Farr ; born 1820 ; succeeded his
brother, John Baillie, in 1854; married, first, in 1850,
Anna Maria, daughter of Lieut.-General H. Ivenslow, of
the Bengal Artillery. She died in 1867. Married, 2nd,
in 1868, Eliza, widow of Farr W. Hockin of Sherborne,
Dorset. Has by the first wife, with other issue, Hugh,
born in 1863. Major Rose, who was educated at Edin-
burgh and Addiscome College, is a J.P. and D.-L. for the
county of Nairn, Lord of the Barony of Kilravock, and
Major in the Indian Army, retired.
" A Genealogical Deduction of the Family of Rose of
Kilravock from 1299 to 1847" was issued by the " Spald-
ing Club" in 1848, under the supervision of Cosmo Innes.
This History was written by Hew Rose, minister of
Nairn, a cadet of the long race, in 1683-4, and continued
by Lachlan Shaw, minister of Elgin — a Digest of which
has been given above.
A range of castellated buildings and bastioned tower,
with gaunt appendages of later but not quite modern
days, stand on the edge of a richly wooded declivity of
rock, looking down upon the river Nairn. The square
keep was built by "Huchone de Ross;" i.e., Hugh
Rose, the 7th Baron, in 1460, having obtained licence to
do so from John, Lord of the Isles ; confirmed in 1475 by
King James III. Tradition says that the Towers of
Calder, Ironside, Dallas, and Spynie were built about the
same time, and that the architect was Cochrane, the
minion of James III., whom that monarch created Earl
of Mar, who was afterwards hanged over Lauder Bridge
in July 1482.
Besides the destruction of the Kilravock Papers, when
the Cathedral of Elgin was burned in 1390, also in or
about 1482, Duncan Macintosh surprised the Tower, com-
mitted slaughter and destroying papers. Hugh, 8th of
the name and the 10th succeeding in the family, "builded
the lower part of the mannor place" in 1553. He was
bound by contract to give John Anderson, mason, " meall
at 2 sh. 8d. the boll." George Robertson, smith in Elgin,
made the iron gate to the tower, which gate weighed 34
ROSE'S TOMB IN THE CHAPEL OF GEDDES. 29S
stone and 3 libs, for which he granted the "recept of
threttie-four pounds 3 sh. 9d., with three bolls meall, ane
stone of butter, and ane stone of cheese, by his recept,
February 5, 1568." This iron gate was taken off by the
English in the wars of Cromwell. This Hugh, "the
Black Baron," who died in 1597 set. 90, entertained Queen
Mary in his tower — her Majesty's bedroom, which is still
in its original state, having no fire place in it, nor was it
lathed nor plastered, while the floor consisted of great
coarse boards, roughly sawn, and nailed together.
The name of Kilravock indicates the Cell or Chapel
dedicated to some now-forgotten Saint; and tradition
points, alas ! to the present pigeon-house as the site of
that Chapel. No ancient rights are ascertained by the
verdict of an Inquest in the cause between "the Lord
Prior of Urquhart and Hugh de Ros of Kilravoc," held in
the Chapter of the Cathedral Church of Elgin in 1343.
The Prior's duty was to defray the expense of the Vicar
of Dalcross, who was to celebrate in Divine Service twice
a week in the Chapel of Kilravock. Incidentally this
chart introduces the Hermit of St. Mary's Chapel at Rate.
It is a finely written indenture. Of the five seals that
have been attached, only the labels remain.
In some of the old copies of the Kilravock History are
given the inscriptions on the tomb of Mr. Rose, in the
Chapel of Geddes, " taken off the loose stones after the
chapel had fallen." Nothing now remains even of " the
loose stones " which formed this monument, which seems
to have been ornamented in the bad taste of that day —
loaded with reflections on mortality, scriptural and classi-
cal, in verse and prose. The purpose of its erection is
given in these words : —
PosiruM DAVIDIS ROSE DE EARLSMILL FILII GULIELMI ROSE
ET LILI.E HAY, DOMINI ET DOMINIE DE KILRAVOCK, QUI OBIIT
30 MAII 1669, ^ETATIS 76: NEC NON CONJUGIS IPSIUS CHRIS-
TIANA CUTHBERT, FILI^i JACOBI CUTHBERT DE DRAKIES, QU-ffi
OBIIT 18 SEPTEMBRIS 1658. IN MEMORIAM PARENTUM sui
ET FRATRUM, JACOBI, GULIELMI, ALEXANDRIS, ET GULIELMI
ROSE, ADORNANDUM CURAVIT M. HUGO ROSE DIVINI VERBI
MINISTER APUD NAIRNE, 1667.
.As in the vegetable world the old branches wither
and drop off, while the stem and the younger branches
flourish, so in families the stock and the younger cadets
296 THE VARIOUS FAMILIES OF ROSE.
remain after the old branches have become extinct. It
cannot be doubted that, in the first age of this family of
Kilravock, some considerable branches had sprung from
it, which time has consumed, so that now these cannot
be traced ; yet some of near to 300 years' standing do
still remain, for example the following in the order of
seniority: —
I. The Roses of Braidley or Dunern.
II. Rose of Holm.
III. Rose of Bellivat and Blackhills.
IV. Rose of Insh.
V. Rose of Wester Drakies.
VI. Rose of Clava.
VII. Rose of Braidley.
VIII. Rose of Earlsmill.
IX. Rose of Rosehill.
ROSE OF INSH.
This family was famous for their ecclesiastical prefer-
ments and dignities. (1) Alexander of Larachmore,
brother-german to John the First of Bellivat, and third
son of Hugh, the 8th laird of Kilravock, was father of (2)
Henry of Larachmore, who was father of (3) James Rose
of Insh, one of the ministers of Aberdeen, father of (4)
John Rose of Insh, minister of that parish. He had two
sons, viz., Alexander and Arthur. This last Arthur
Rose was, in 1675, consecrated Bishop of Argyle, from
which he was, in 167.9, translated to the metropolitan
See of Glasgow; and, in 1684, he was advanced to the
Primacy, and made Archbishop of St Andrews. Being
deprived at the Revolution, he lived a retired life, and
died 13th June 1704. His elder brother, (5) Alexander
Rose, was parson of Monymusk, and was father of two
clergymen — viz., John and Alexander. This latter was
for some years one of the ministers of Perth, from whence
he was translated to Glasgow, and made Professor of
Divinity in that University. In 1686 he was consecrated
Bishop of Moray, from whence he was translated to Edin-
burgh in 1688. After his deprivation and the death of
his uncle in 1704, Bishop Alexander Rose was Primus
(or, in Roman Catholic terms, Vicar-General), to whom
it belonged to call meetings of the clergy, and to preside
in consecrating Bishops. The following sketch of him is
KILRAVOCK, HOLM, CANTRAY, GALCANTRAY. 297
by a contemporary, from an MS. written about 1730, in
the library at Slains: — "He was a man of breeding and
parts, and so well accomplished and exercised in business,
that though the Revolution happened the very first year
of his government, yet he continued to command an
universal respect, and to fill this chair with commenda-
tion to the last. After the Primate's death (1704) he
maintained the character of Vicar-General, and took care
to preserve the succession, and having outlived all the
•deprived bishops in this kingdom, came at last to have
the sole government of the Church. He was tall and
graceful to look at, and of a very healthful constitution,
but was cut off by a sudden fit of an apoplexie at the age
of 74, at Edinburgh, March 20, 1720, and was buried in
the Lord Balrnerinoch's burial place at Restalrig." His
elder brother, (6) John Rose of Insh, was parson of
Foveran]. (ED.)
Kilravock's Paternal Arms are : Or. 3 Water Budgets, Sab.
Now to describe the Parish :
The House of Kilravock standeth on a rock,
on the west bank of the river. It is a large pile
of building, with a strong Tower, built in 1460
by a patent from the Earl of Boss. (Ibid.) The
river, gardens, enclosures, and adjacent birch-
wood, make it a very agreeable seat. South-west
on the river is Holm, the property of John Kose
of Holm, the 9th descent in a direct line ; the
small heritage is a part of the Barony of Strath-
nairn (Vide Daviot. Par.) Next up the river is
Cantray, which, with Galcantray and Bellaffresh
on the east side of the river, and the lands of
Croy near the Church, are the property of Mr.
Davidson, who lately purchased them from
Dallas of Cantray. Croy was purchased from
298 DALCEOSS, LEYS, ORCHIL, BARONY OF CLAVA.
Campbell of Calder in 1617 ; but Cantray (and
Budzet in Calder) has been the seat of Dallas for
many generations.
North-west from Cantray, on the top of the
hill, standeth the Castle of Dalcross,. built in
1621 by Lord Lovate, whose property the land
was at that time. It came afterwards to Sir
James Frazer of Brae, who gave it as a portion
with his daughter Jean Frazer to Major Bate-
man. The major sold it to James Eoy Dunbar
Baillie of Inverness, and from him Macintosh of
Macintosh purchased it in 1702. About 4 miles
farther, on the west brae of the hill, is Easter
Leys, pertaining to Eobertson of Inches (Vide
Inverness Par.) Next is Mid Leys, the property
of George Baillie, son of John Baillie, late
Writer to the Signet in Edinburgh, who was
son of James Baillie, Sheriff Clerk of Inverness,
of the family of Dunean. Farther is West Leys,
the heritage of Alexander Shaw of Tordaroch,
who sold it lately to Sir Ludowick Grant of
Grant (Vide Daviot Par.) These Leys hold of
Lord Lovat, as a part of the ancient estate of
that family.
To return to the side of the river Nairn.
Above Cantray are Little Cantray, Contra-na-
bruich, Orchil, &c., pertaining to Kilravock ; and
further up is the Barony of Clava, the heritage of
Kose of Clava ; of which branch Hugh of C ava
is now the 6th in descent. This Barony is
STATE OF PROPERTIES IN CROY. 299
situated on both sides of the river. And in the
upper part of the parish is Daltulich, a mortgage
possessed by a branch of the Frasers for 5
generations past.
CROY.
[Situation, Soil, Climate. — Croy lies on the southern
side of Ardersier, and upon the west of Nairn. It is
intersected through 8 miles of its length by the river of
that name, on the western side of which it is extended in
the direction north-west from Nairn for the space of 16
miles, consisting almost of one continued low ridge of
white moorish ground, on which there are several small
plots of poorly cultivated land. The soil along the river
is a fertile loam, and in several parts fields of a good
quality are found ; but a great part is poor and thin, on
a cold hard soil, and the crop subjected to damage when
the harvest is late and wet.
State of Property. — The parish, in the counties of
Nairn and Inverness, is shared among 10 proprietoi's.
The family seat of Kilravock is an old tower, supposed to
have been built in the year 1460, to which an elegant
modern mansion, on a rock overhanging the river, is con-
joined. The gardens, an orchard, and a considerable
extent of natural and planted wood, embellish the en-
virons. The domain is in the county of Nairn; the valued
rent amounts to £792. A little farther up, pleasantly
situated on the banks of the river, is Holme, the seat of
John Rose, in the county of Inverness, a neat modern
house, embellished by natural and planted wood ; the
valuation is £120. Still farther up the river, in the same
county, is Cantray, the mansion-house of David David-
son [now Hugh G. Davidson]. He has at once orna-
mented and improved his ample property in a very high
degree ; more than 400 acres of waste have been brought
into the highest state of cultivation. His plantations
exceed 2000 acres ; he has built a splendid and commo-
dious mansion, and a handsome bridge in its environs,
of the greatest utility and ornament. His domains are
in both counties ; the estate of Clava in Nairn, valued at
£292 15s. 8d., added to those of Cantray and Clavala in
300 DALCROSS, INCHES, DALTALICH, MID LEYS, LEYS.
the county of Inverness, extends his valued rent in this
parish to the sum of £839. Arthur Forbes of Culloden,
Esq., has lands in both counties within this parish ; his
valuation in Nairn, of £358 14s. 6d., added to that of
Lenoch and Bellbraid in the county of Inverness, makes
his valuation equal to £4)49 4s. 6d. The rest of the
parish is wholly in the county of Inverness.
The old castle and estate of Dalcross, the property of
Mackintosh of Mackintosh, is valued at £190. Part of
the barony of Inches, the property of Robertson, is valued
at £230. Daltalich, a part of the estate of Lovat, is
valued at £116 13s. 4d. Mid Leys, the property of Mr.
Baillie, is valued at £133 6s. 8d. Leys, the property of
Col. Fraser of Culduthel, is valued at £130 ; and the pro-
peity appertaining to Cuthbert of Castlehill, valued at
£56, makes the whole valuation of the parish amount
to £2995 14s. 6d. Scots.
The greater part of the farms are below £20 sterling of
rent. Several of them are inconsiderable crofts, lately
brought into culture, and threatening to return to their
original state of moor. There are a few rented from £40
to £50, managed in the best manner.
State Ecclesiastical. — The parish, in its present extent,
consists of Croy and the parish of Dalcross, annexed
before or about the Reformation. The vicar of Dalcross
is mentioned in the records of Roman Catholic times ;
and the Burial-ground, still used a little, and the walls of
its Church remain ; and its glebe makes a part of the
present glebe. The names of both parishes are supposed
to be originally French, Croix, the cross, and De la Croix;
but as a district in the western quarter of the kingdom is
named Glencro, or croy, it may be of Gaelic birth. The
stipend, including the allowance for the communion, is
£30 11s. sterling, and 80 bolls of grain. The right of
patronage is equally shared between the families of Caw-
dor and Kilravock. The district called Leys is so distant
from the Church, that, during the summer and autumn
months, public worship is performed there every fourth
Sunday in the open air. The salary of the parochial
school is 16 bolls of bear ; the fees of education, and the
perquisites of the office of session-clerk make the whole
establishment equal to £22 sterling yearly. The Society
for Christian Knowledge maintain also a school in the
THE BATTLE OF CULLODEN IN PARISH OF CHOY. 301
parish, with an appointment of XI 2 sterling, besides the
house, garden, fuel, and the maintenance of a cow, fur-
nished by the proprietor and the people. Both schools
are flourishing and well attended. Except 4 of the Epis-
copalian persuasion, the whole of the people, amounting
to 1552, appertain to the national Church.
Miscellaneous Information. — It was in this parish,
near the middle of the ridge of moorish ground on the
side towards the river, that the decisive and important
action of Culloden was achieved. After Prince Charles
Edward had fully ascertained the sentiments both of
England and Wales to be adverse to his desperate
attempt, and found himself duped in the support which
had been so liberally promised by France and Spain, the
councils of his adherent chiefs, distracted by jealousy and
dissension, were deeply marked by the infatuation of
despair ; for though presumption only could flatter them
with the hope of success, and defeat must be attended by
inevitable destruction, yet under the advantage of the
terror and alarm which they had thrown over the
capital, their successful retreat almost from the environs
of London, so wonderful in every circumstance, the
resources which they still possessed, and the additional
support which they might acquire, had they then sued
for peace and carried on at the same time the war, they
would have obtained an amnesty for the whole of the
common people, and easy terms for the less distinguished
chiefs ; and while they retained the command of several
ports on both sides of the island, the Adventurer himself,
and such as could not reasonably hope for pardon, might
have easily retreated to an asylum on the Continent.
This, however, they did not attempt. In the meantime
royal forces thickened everywhere around them; every
district almost of the Western Highlands (Inverness and
Fort-Augustus excepted) was occupied by formidable
detachments of adverse troops. The Duke of Cumberland
arrived at Aberdeen about the end of February, andr
having completed his magazines, commenced his march
with the last division of his forces upon the 8th of April,
and rendezvoused at Cullen with the whole army on the
llth. On the morning of the 12th, Major-General Huske,
with the cavalry, a body of loyal Highlanders, 15 com-
panies of grenadiers, and 2 field pieces, attended by the
302 ENCAMPMENTS AT SPEYMOUTH MANSE AND ALVES.
Duke himself, preceded the army to the banks of the
Spey. The Duke of Perth, the Lords John Drummond,
Kilmarnock, and Balmerinoch, and Secretary Murray,
had for some time taken up their quarters in the manse
of Speymouth, on the other side of that river. The
minister has left it on record, that though they used him
civilly, and gave him no disturbance concerning his prin-
ciples, yet it was expensive to him, and public worship
was suspended during their sojourn there. 2000 men
was the force under their command, able to have pre-
vented the passage of the royal army, or to have defeated
them when struggling with the power of the stream ; but
on their appearance on the southern bank, the rebels fled
off towards Elgin, with the most unaccountable precipi-
tation. The horse, sustained by the grenadiers and
Highlanders, immediately passed over, but not with such
expedition as to warrant a pursuit. The whole army
thereafter forded the river to the depth of their middles,
and one grenadier and 4 women, borne down by its
rapidity, were drowned. They encamped in the vicinity
of the manse, and his Royal Highness, with a more
cordial welcome, occupied the state bed, from which the
Duke of Perth was dispossessed. Their march on Sun-
day the 13th reached to the Church of Alves; the en-
campment was formed on an arable field, then green with
the springing corn ; the owner considered the crop to be
destroyed, but it was found to have been thereby greatly
improved. On the 14th they marched forward to the town
of Nairn. The Duke entering into the 27th year of his
age, they rested on the 15th, solemnizing the auspicious
anniversary, and trimming their accoutrements and arms.
By this time the greater part of the rebel troops, from
various quarters, under different chiefs, had rendezvoused
with the Prince at Inverness. But instead of prudently
retreating to the fastnesses of the mountains, which then
afforded store of live cattle for provision, where their
regiments would have been recruited, and their force
augmented by a strong reinforcement of the Macphersons,
then actually in full march to their aid, and where per-
haps the disaster of Closterseven might have by anticipa-
tion been prevented, they weakly drew out to meet their
fate upon Drummossie Moor, where they lay the whole
night under arms, having very little provision — two
THE ARMY MARCHES FROM NAIRN. 303
bannocks of bread only to each man. And in the anxious
expectation of the advance of the royal army they waited
in the order of battle the whole of the succeeding day,
during which they were joined by 1400 men, under
young Lovat, Keppoch, and Locheil. Having formed the
weak purpose of surprising the Duke's army in the night
of the birth-day solemnization, they marched eastward
after sun-set in two columns ; but then faint with hunger
and fatigue, many were unable to come up ; embarrassed
by the length of the columns, they were obliged to make
several halts, and many, overpowered with sleep, dropped
off unperceived in the dark, and lay hid in the fields ;
and at the distance of 3 miles it was found impossible to
reach the Duke's army before the rising of the sun, and
only then with half the numb.er that had marched off the
moor. Charles therefore was reluctantly prevailed upon
to measure back his way to the ground first chosen for
the battle, in which he was rejoined by the greater part
of those who had straggled in the nocturnal march. Im-
mediately on regaining their station, great numbers dis-
persed in quest of provisions, and many, overpowered by
fatigue, lay down to sleep on the heath. About 5 o'clock
in the morning the army began their march from Nairn,
nearly 15 miles distant from the place of engagement,
and the repose of the wearied clans was disturbed by the
alarm of their approach. They formed the order of battle
with at least 1000 fewer than they had mustered on the
preceding day; the front in 13 divisions, each clan under its
respective chief, having 6 field pieces in the middle of the
line; to support the front were disposed Fitz- James's
horse on the right, covered by the wall of an enclosure ;
4 companies of French piquets composed the middle
column, and on the left were 5 companies of Lord John
Drummond's foot, and a body of horse composed of the
Prince's guards ; open to the centre of the foot was the
young Adventurer and his body guards, and in his rear
was the line of reserve.
The Duke's army formed in 2 lines also, and 3 regi-
ments for the corps of reserve; the dragoons, under
Hawley, were on the left flank, -and Kingston's horse
guarded the right; the artillery, consisting of 10 field
pieces, were placed two in the centre of each regiment, so
that some pieces were capable of flanking the enemy on
304 THE ROAD TO INVERNESS STREWN WITH DEAD.
whatever part of the line the impression might be made.
The royal army consisted of 8811, and the other num-
bered 8350. About one o'clock afternoon the artillery of
both parties opened ; that of the rebels was ill served and
inefficient, but the king's made dreadful havock among
them, which Lord George Murray, the leader of the right
wing, perceiving, called on them to advance, and 500
charged the left wing with their usual impetuosity. Bar-
rel's regiment and Monro's were yielding to the pressure
of this column when they were sustained by 2 battalions
under Wolfe, advancing from the second line, by whose
close fire great numbers fell, while the cannon continued
to pour destruction with their cartridge shot. Meanwhile
the dragoons, aided by the militia of Argyle, having
opened passages in the dyke, brol^ in upon the right
flank, while Kingston's horse, upon the left, met them
in the centre, completing the confusion of the rebels;
their rout in less than 30 minutes was final, and the field
covered with the slain. The French piquets in their
right covered their retreat for a little by a close and
regular fire, then retiring to Inverness, they surrendered
themselves prisoners of war. The road to that town was
strewed with the bodies of the dead. Many friends even,
who had come to share the victory, were sacrificed in the
undistinguishing exultation of the victors over the unre-
sisting foe. An entire body of the rebels, however,
marched off the field of battle, their pipes playing, and
the standard of Charles displayed. On the succeeding
day 2000 met on the road to Badenoch, and, after a little
deliberation, finally dispersed.
In every instance of civil war, rapine, desolation, and
murder will be the cruel lot of numbers, though unresist-
ing to either side. The moderation, however, of the rebels
in the season of their success, considering their necessities,
is deservedly worthy of the most distinguished praise -r
private property, save a trifling exaction at Manchester
and Glasgow, remained inviolate in both their peregrina-
tions from one end of the island almost to the other. Yet
the objects of spoil were most tempting to undisciplined
and needy adventurers, and their ideas of honesty and
justice had impressed but faintly the virtue of forbear-
ance and self-denial ; and, save only in the rage of battle,
they were extremely delicate and gentle, respecting the
ENCAMPMENT AT FORT AUGUSTUS. 305
effusion of blood. But with an extremely different mea-
sure was it meted to them in the day of their calamity.
And notwithstanding the wickedness of 'their attempt to
subvert our religion, liberty, and glorious constitution, it
was not possible to regard the fallen sufferers without
pity, without condemning the rigour of that vengeance to
which the weak and submissive were doomed. The
soldiers of the king, not contented with the blood which
had been so profusely shed in the heat of action, traversed
the fitild after the battle, and massacred those miserable
wretches whom they found unresisting and maimed ;
some officers even, uninspired by sentiment, untinctured
by humanity, bore a part in this cruel scene of assassina-
tion. But that day did not sate the vengeance of the
loyal powers. In the month of May they advanced into
the Highlands and encamped at Fort Augustus, which
had been lately by the rebels blown up ; whence detach-
ments were to every quarter sent off; the men, hunted
down like wild beasts, were shot upon the mountains, or
put to death in cold blood, without the form of trial ;
the women, having seen their fathers, brothers, and
husbands murdered, subjected to violation, were turned
out naked with their children, to starve upon the bar-
ren hills. One whole family, shut up in a barn, were
consumed to ashes. Every house, hut, or habitation,
was without distinction burned. So active and alert
were those ministers of vengeance, that in a few days
neither house nor cottage, man nor beast, was to be seen
within the compass of 50 miles ; all was ruin, silence,
and desolation !
Yet jollity and glee alone resounded in the camp at
Fort Augustus. Upwards of 2400 black cattle, with
droves of sheep and goats, and troops of horses, were
brought in — the plunder of the murdered peasants, and
horse-racing among every rank and sex prevailed. His
Royal Highness gave a holland smock for a prize, and
the wives of the soldiers started on the bare backs of
garrans, riding, with their legs on each side, like the men.
On the same coursers Hawley and Colonel Howard run a
match for 20 guineas, and the first of these heroes, by 4
inches, won.
While these circumstances are recorded in the page of
history, let each succeeding generation beware of foster-
VOL. ii. 20
306 DISASTROUS DEFEAT OF PRINCE CHARLIE.
ing rebellion, or exciting insurrection, but only to obtain
relief in situations that can be hardly rendered more
calamitous.
The vanquished Adventurer, all his hope of a crown in
one half hour dispelled, rode off the field with a few
horsemen, accompanied by Lord Elcho and the Duke of
Perth. Crossing the river Nairn, he retired to the house
of a gentleman in Strath-herrick, and after a mournful
conference with Lord Lovat, dismissing his followers, he
wandered about a wretched solitary fugitive, surrounded
by armed enemies, chased from hill to dale, from wood to
heath, and from shore to shore, lurking seldom in a
cottage, sometimes in a cave, and frequently on the bare
waste, without attendants, and without other support
than what the poorest peasant could supply. Sometimes,
assuming women's attire, he appeared a lady's maid ; and
sometimes, in the habit of a travelling mountaineer, with
a wallet on his back. He was rowed in fisher boats from
isle to isle among the Hebrides, passing through the
midst of his enemies unknown, exposed to hunger, thirst,
and weariness, to cold and wet, in continued peril. He
trusted his life to the fidelity of more than 50 individuals,
mostly in the lowest paths of fortune, and knowing that
to betray him raised them at once to affluence and
wealth, by the price of £30,000 set upon his head ; but
they detested riches on such infamous terms, and they
ministered to his necessities with the utmost fidelity
and zeal, even at the hazard of their own destruction.
Through the whole course of his distresses (which were
such as hardly any other person ever outlived) he main-
tained the most amazing equanimity and good humour ;
never abandoned by his hope and recollection, he still
found some expedient that saved him from captivity and
death. At length, in the 5th month of his painful peril,
he got on board a privateer of St. Malo ; by means of a
thick fog he passed through Lestock's squadron unseen,
and arrived in safety at Roseau in Bretagne, his eye
hollow, his visage wan, and his constitution greatly im-
paired by famine and fatigue. The history of his race, in
every generation, loudly admonishes "all kings to be
wise, and all judges of the earth to be instructed;"
ever to govern with discretion, and with such care for the
public weal as may preserve the love of their subjects,
LITTLE TO BE SEEN OF THE FIELD OF CULLODEN. 307
and maintain their reign over people, happy because they
feel themselves free.
There is little now to be seen on the field of battle, but
it is still visited by many. The graves of those who fell
are strikingly distinguishable by their verdant surface
of grass rising through the brown surrounding heath.
About 50 only of the army fell, of whom 6 were officers, one
of them Lord Robert Ker ; the number of the rebels who
were killed in the action and in the pursuit has been
computed at 2500. Bullets and fragments of armour,
which are picked up by the people of the neighbourhood,
are anxiously sought after, and preserved with care as
curiosities, or as valuable relics. (Survey of the Province
of Moray!)
Following the river, I come to
THE PAEISH OF DAVIOT AND DUNLIGHTIB
Stretching on both sides of the river Nairn,
about 10 miles in length, and in few places 2 in
breadth. It is enclosed with hills, except to-
wards Croy. The Church standeth on the west
bank, a mile above the north end of the parish,
3 miles north from Dunlichtie, which is united
with it, 4 miles south from Croy, 4 miles S.E.
from Inverness, and 3 miles north-west from
Moy. The Barony of Strathnairn was the
freehold of the Earl of Crawford before the
year 1500. David, Earl of Crawford, married
Catharine, daughter of King Eobert II., and
with her got the Barony of Strathnairn, &c.,
anno 1378 (Bot. Rob. II.) ; and he disponed it in
feu to Ogilvie, laird of Findlater, who resided at
Hall-hill in Pettie, and was designed laird of
Strathnairn. Sir John Campbell of Calder pur-
308 THE BARONY OF STRATHNAIRN, DAVIE FORT, FAILIE.
chased Crawford's right in 1535, and thereafter
Findlater conveyed his feu-hold to the Earl of
Moray. This Earl, unwilling to hold of Calder,
privately obtained a Charter from the Chancery,
by which he was to hold of the Crown. Sir
John Campbell, great-grand-son to the former
mentioned, carried on a reduction of the Earl of
Moray's right, and obtained from Earl James an
ample renunciation, dated 17th November 1608,
acknowledging, "that he held of Sir John Camp-
bell of Calder the lands of Meikle Davie, cum
Fortalicio, Budzeat, Little Davie, Coulclachie,
Meikle and Little Craggies, Inverarnie, Gask,
Wester Larg, Aberchaladers, Aberarders, Dal-
crombie, Letterwhiln, Brinns, Fleechtie, Far,
Holm, Failie, and'Drumornie " (Pen. Cold.) Thus
the Earl of Moray holdeth this barony of Mr.
Campbell of Calder as his superior.
On the west side of the river, in the lower end
of the parish, is Coulclachie, a sub-vassalage of
Angus Macintosh, who now representeth the
Macintoshes of Connidge. Next southward is
Davie, the property of the laird of Macintosh.
Here was a Fort built by David, Earl of Craw-
ford, and after him called Davie Fort. Next is
Failie, the heritage of MacBean of Failie, a
branch of the old Clan Chattan, who have long
possessed this small estate. South thereof is
G-ask, which, with Dunmaglass, are the property
of William MacGillivray of Dunmaglass. This
CASK, CRAGGIE, INVERARNIE, FAKR, TORDAROCH. 309
last was purchased by the Thane of Calder in
1414, and feued to Ferquhard MacAlaster in
1626; but they had immemorial Duchus or
possession of it. Dunmaglass is Chief of the
ancient clan of MacGillivray.
On the east side of the river, the first north-
ward is Craggie, the property of the late William
Shaw of Craigfield, cousin to Tordaroch, south
of which is the Barony of Largs, a part of Mac-
intosh's estate. Further south is Inverarnie, a
mortgage from Rose of Kilravock, who is the
Earl of Moray's sub-vassal. MacPhail of Inver-
arnie is the Chief of that ancient tribe of the
Clan Chattan. Above Inverarnie, on the brook
of Fearnie, is Far, the property of Macintosh of
Far, a branch of the family of Kylachie. Above
Inverarnie, on the side of Nairn, is Tordaroch,
the seat of Alexander Shaw, an ancient branch
of the Shaws of Eothemurchus. This family's
heritage is Wester Leys, in the parish of Croy ;
but they hold Tordaroch in lease of Macintosh,
and have resided in it above 200 years. In the
south end of Dunlichtie parish is Aberarder, the
heritage of William Macintosh of Aberarder, a
branch of the family of Macintosh; and west
of Aberarder is Dunmaglass, of which I have
spoken. There are in this Brae-country some
other sub-vassals of the Earl of Moray.
310 LOCHS DUNDLECHAK AND KUTHVEN.
DAVIOT AND DUNLICHTY.
[Situation, Soil, Climate. — The river Nairn winds
eastward from its sources, for the length of 23 miles,
through this parish. The cultivated grounds extend from
about 2 to nearly 4 miles in breadth. The name of
Daviot is believed to have been given to the smaller
district in honour of David, Earl of Crawford, once its
proprietor, who built a fortress, lately razed for the lime-
rubbish as manure. The other name in Gaelic is DUN-
LE-CHATTI, the hill of the Clan Chattan. This ancient
tribe, under the various surnames of Macintosh, the
chief, Macgillivray, Macpherson, Macbean, Shaw, Smith,
and Gow, continue in the possession of an extensive tract
upon either side of this hill, which yet bears upon its
summit the tokens of having been the rendezvous, and
the place whence the signals were made, as the exigencies
of remote times required. The Church of this district
stands near its bottom ; that of the other a few miles to
the north-west of Moy. The appearance of the country
is not inviting; where the hills are not covered with
heath, " on which no tree is seen," they are naked rock,
while large tracts of peat morass or barren moor deform
the vales below. Among the mountains there are several
lakes ; that of Dundlechak is of the most consideration ;
it discharges one of the branches of the river, it is very
deep ; it is the lake which never freezes in winter by the
most intense and longest frost, but in a calm night during
the Spring it is readily frozen over in the space only of
one night. The lake of Ruthven, though about half the
extent of the other, being 3 miles in length, and nearly
1 in breadth, is vastly its superior in the estimation of
the angler ; there is no pike in it, but it is well stocked
with trout of the Lochleven kind, similar to salmon when
dressed ; 4 or 5 dozen, from 3 to 8 lb., are at times caught
in the(space of two hours ; and one or two boats are kept
on the lake for the purpose only of fishing. Westward
for some miles from the Church of Dunlighty the hills
are chiefly composed of rock, and almost everywhere
along their base innumerable fragments of enormous
bulk, appearing to have been violently severed from their
parent cliffs, exhibit the most satisfactory proof that
earthquakes have been more frequent and more dreadful
PROPERTIES IN DAVIOT AND DUNLICHTY PARISHES. 311
in this quarter of the island than either tradition or his-
tory records. Near the Church of Daviot, and for some
miles above it, on both sides of the river, there is a
natural object of another kind more striking still; the
ground is more than 300 feet of perpendicular height
above the level of the Frith ; it nevertheless presents a
great many sand-hills, which evidently appear to have
been formed by the current of contrary tides, under the
flux and reflux of the ocean. At that period not only
this island, but the greater part of Europe, must have
been the bottom of the sea, probably during the antedilu-
vian era, or in that more early period when " the Spirit
of God moved upon the face of the waters, before he
divided the waters which were under the firmament from
those which were above it."
In some places the soil is sandy and light ; in others it
is spongy and wet, incumbent on clay; there are alsa
tracts where it is black, of the quality of peat earth ; and
in many places all these kinds are compounded together.
A considerable proportion of the soil is, however, fertile,
and capable of producing pretty plentiful crops, but the
climate is variable and unpropitious, and oftentimes the
whole labour and hope of the year is blasted in one night
or morning in the months of August or September by the
mildew frost, to which the best and lowest fields are most
exposed.
State of Property. — In its political circumstances the
parish is placed in the counties of Nairn and Inverness.
It is at present the inheritance of 8 proprietors. John
Macgillivray of Dunmaglass, Esq., has the valuation of
£400 Scots in the county of Nairn, and £486 in that of
Inverness. David Davidson of Cantray, Esq., holds a
valuation of £226 6s. 8d. Captain Macpherson of Inver-
eshie has a valuation of £56 13s. 4d. tineas Mackintosh
of Mackintosh, Esq., has the property of Daviot at £448,
William Mackintosh of Culclachy, £313 10s. Captain
Mackintosh of Aberairder, £694 6s. 8d. James Mackin-
tosh of Far, £200 ; and Arthur Forbes of Culloden, £108
6s. 8d., extending the whole valuation of the parish to the
sum of £2933 6s. 8d. At the family seats of Dunmaglass
and Far, the improvement of draining, enclosing, and
planting, has been for some time carried on with pro-
priety and success. The state of agriculture is in extreme
312 DAVOCHS, PLOUGHS, AND AUGHTEEN PARTS.
backwardness ; the small black hairy oats and rye are
the principal crops ; common oats and barley succeed but
in few places, and frequently misgive. The quantities of
land are denominated davochs, ploughs, and aughteen
parts : they were at first ascertained with regard to the
quality rather than to the extent; and as, in several
cases, the quality has been since improved, these deno-
minations now appear arbitrary and uncertain. Few
tenants occupy more than one aughteen part, the rent of
which is from £3 to £5, besides a variety of services
exacted by the landlords, both in seed time and harvest
— so flagrantly detrimental to all improvement, that of
late some of the proprietors begin to discover that the
practice of the landlords in the highest cultivated dis-
tricts of the kingdom is more wise than theirs ; that they
will become more respectable by having their revenue
wholly in money, ascertained by the number of the acres
on their estates ; having their tenants in other respects
entirely independent, and hiring farm servants sufficient
for the cultivation of the lands in their own occupation.
Of late the blackfaced sheep have been introduced into
the higher parts of the district of Dunlighty, and they do
not appear to suffer from the climate ; the mean value is
9s. each, and the number about 2000. The common cross
breeds are double that number, and their mean value
about 5s. each. The number of black cattle have been
diminished by increasing the number of the sheep ; they
still count to about 1300, and their mean value about £2
each. Horses are generally used in the cultivation of
the land ; they are of small size, their number about 800,
and their mean value about £2 10s.
State Ecclesiastical. — The parishes of Daviot and Dun-
lighty were united about the year 1618. The residence
is at Daviot, at the distance of 7 miles from the Church
of Dunlighty, where public worship is performed every
alternate Sunday. The stipend is £77 6s. sterling, with
a small glebe, detached in parts as in the original
parishes. The right of patronage appertains to Lord
Cawdor. The appointment of the schoolmaster, including
the emoluments of the office of Session-Clerk, is about
£12. The number of the poor is nearly 46, and the
funds for their provision, raised in the common form, and
augmented by an endowment of £36, bearing interest,
THE PARISHES OF DAVIOT AND DUNLIGHTY. 313
exceeds not £5 yearly. The members of the National
Church are 1265; and there are 430 of the Communion of
the Episcopalian Church of Scotland, who have a chapel
for themselves in the parish, but can only afford to have
public worship there once in 3 or 4 Sundays ; during the
interval they assemble with their neighbours in the
parish Church. There are two Seceders of less liberality
of sentiment.
Miscellaneous Information. — The people are devout
and regular in their profession of religion, disposed to rest
somewhat on external forms, which, however, does not
appear to have any bad effect on their morals, although
in some of the less essential duties they are not wholly
pure. They have, however, a sense of shame and honour
in a high degree for their station. They are frugal, and
they would be industrious if the climate and other parti-
cular circumstances offered the same excitements which
happier situations possess. There are about 60 young
men who migrate southwards for employment during the
seasons of Spring, Summer, and Harvest ; but by this
means they have not generally increased their stock.
They have introduced expensive dress and other luxuries
among the labouring class ; they have also raised the
price of labour at home, and they live through the winter
a burden on the common stock of their families. The
gentlemen of the country want not encouragements in its
own improvement, sufficient to retain them at home, and
which would greatly redound to their mutual advantage ;
for this end they must no doubt place their tenants in
the same situation, as to ease and independence, with
those in the South, who can thus afford to abstract the
labour of the North. By this means also the industry of
a great part of the people who live within 4 or 6 miles of
Inverness would be in a short time directed into a more
profitable channel, both for landlord and tenant, than
that in which it presently runs — namely, in preparing
peat and turf fuel, and carrying it to the markets of the
town, which is regularly continued twice in every week
round the whole year, not excepting either Spring or
Harvest. About Daviot there is lime-stone rock in the
bed and banks of the river; it contains a great many
small metallic cubes, not exceeding the fourth of an inch,
consisting of a great proportion of lead, and of that
314 ARDERSIER OR THE HEIGHT OF THE EDGE.
colour. There is a considerable number of weavers
employed in making coarse woollen stuff. The other
artizans only accommodate the country, for which there
are also 1 fulling and 14 corn-mills.] (Survey of the
Province of Moray.)
But I return to the coast.
THE PAEISH OF ARDERSIER
Lieth on the west Coast from Nairn. It is a
promontory running into the Moray Firth, from
south-east to north-west, and is about 2 miles in
length, and little more than a half mile in breadth
at the south-east; and at the north-west it ter-
minates in a narrow point, on which the Fort is
built. The whole parish is the property of John
Campbell of Calder, and was a part of the lands
of the Bishop of Boss, with some Temple lands
formerly belonging to the Knights Templar.
More than a third part of the whole bounds was
purchased about 1746 by the Government for a
precinct of the fort. The Church formerly stood
within the precinct, but of late there is a new
Church built a little without it, about 5 miles
west from Nairn, 3 miles north from Croy, and 4
miles north-east from Pettie. Whether the pre-
cinct shall be intra-parochial, or extra-parochial,
is not as yet determined.
ARDERSIER.
[Situation, Soil, Climate. — This parish lies on the shore
of the Firth, westward of that of Nairn, having a wing of
the parish of Petty interjected between its southern side
and the mountain. The name in the Gaelic, when a little
CROMWELL'S CITADEL CHOSEN FOR FORT GEORGE. 315
corrected, denotes the height of the edge. The greater
part of the cultivated land, lying upon a plain extended
backward from the sharp edge of a steep bank, rising 100
feet above the level beach of the sea. [Ardersier is written
Ardnaseer in the Records of the parish.] The southern
or land side of the parish is stretched a little more than 2
miles, and it might be conceived as a promontory termin-
ating in the Firth, having the cape washed off almost to
the level of the sea by some inundation in an sera beyond
the notice of historical record, while the appearance of
the ground, both in the smoothness of the compacted
gravel of the plain below the bank, and in the steepness
of the bank itself, suggests this idea. It might also with
probability be conjectured, from the quality of the sand
of which the bank appears to be composed, that the sub-
stance of this promontory, washed up again upon the
shore of the parish of Dyke, formed the Mavis Hills and
the magazine for the irruption over the estate of Culbin.
There is in the parish a considerable variety of soil —
stiff clay, deep black mould, shallow black soil, and light
sand. The parish lying either pretty high, or stretched
out into the sea, the climate is rather cold, but neither
wet nor unhealthy.
State of Property. — The whole parish is the property
of Lord Cawdor, except the ground purchased by Govern-
ment for the station of Fort George, and a farm for the
accommodation of the Governor. His Lordship pays the
whole of the land tax affecting the valued rent, which
extends to £600 Scots. The real rent of the parish when
Fort George was built was £315 sterling, and £50 more,
which was the rent of the farm sold to Government.
The parish contains 1,985 acres, of which 966 are moor.
After supplying the inhabitants it, in general, disposes of
300 bolls. It is let in whole to one tenant, who sublets
the greater part, in farms of 20 or 30 acres; the best
arable land at £1 10s. the acre, and that of an inferior
quality from 5s. to 7s. 6d .
The situation of Cromwell's Citadel upon the influx of
the river at Inverness was originally chosen by Govern-
ment for the station of Fort George ; but the magistracy
of that town, from an apprehension of its tendency to
corrupt the morals of the people, eluded its erection there
by such an exorbitant demand for the price of the ground
316 DESCRIPTION OF FORT GEORGE.
that the Duke of Cumberland, in a huff, upon the report
of able engineers, found the ground whereon it now stands
to be the most eligible, which, with the farm that has
been mentioned, was purchased from the family of Cawdor.
The work was commenced in the year 1747 under the
direction of General Skinner. The original estimate was
£120,000 sterling, but it required a little more than the
addition of £40,000. to that sum. The Citadel occupies
15 English acres of the point of low ground already
described. On three sides the ramparts rise almost out
of the sea, which can be introduced at pleasure into a
formidable excavation stretched along the fourth, with
which the ancient fosse round any Gothic castle could
not either in breadth or in depth be compared. It is said
to be the only regular fortification in Britain — every
member of the work is covered by the defence of some
other, and the besiegers can take no station without being
exposed to its fire. The depression of the outworks is so
managed that the interior of the Citadel commands every
part around it, and the plain is so broad on the land side
as to afford no advantage from any higher ground, while
its gravel is so compact and solid as to make the opening
of trenches extremely difficult. It has 4 bastions, is
mounted by 80 cannon, and well supplied with water.
Besides the bomb-proof apartments under the ramparts,
the interior of the Citadel consists of handsome squares
of barracks, elegant accommodation for the Governor and
other officers, a spacious armoury, a secure bomb-proof
magazine, convenient stores, and a neat chapel. It is
sufficient for the accommodation of 3,000 men.
It is hardly possible to contemplate the art and science
displayed in rendering it defensible, without admiring
the advancement in fortification since those rude ages in
which the Capital of Asia was protected by a simple
earthen rampart, flanked only with some towers of wood,
and without even the security of a ditch. Homer repre-
sents Patroclus, upon having repulsed a sortie of Trojans,
springing lightly on the top of the wall, an action which
the judicious bard would never have admitted upon a
perpendicular stone wall and a broad ditch.
The usefulness of Fort George is not now very obvious,
great improvement has no doubt taken place in the
manners and sentiments of the people of the country
THE PARISH OF ARDERSIER. 317
around, since it was first garrisoned, to which it is not
easy to say how much it may have contributed. Con-
sidering the state of the country at that time, its influence
may have been considerable, but it would have been
ineffectual still, without the free access to every quarter
which the formation of roads has opened, the knowledge
and new ideas which the establishment of schools has
diffused ; to which it may be added, that the protection of
the persons and of the substance of the common people,
by the equal extension of the laws to every rank, hath
produced among them a satisfaction and elevation of
mind unknown to their ancestors, the slaves of baronial
despotism.
State Ecclesiastical. — The Church was removed from
the vicinity of the ground sold to Government, to the
plain above the bank, about the year 1769. Its walls, as
well as those of the manse, are formed of clay, without
any stone or lime. The Burial-ground remains at the
old station of the Church, and is also used by the people
of the Fortress. The right of patronage appertains to
Lord Cawdor. There is no parochial school. The num-
ber of the poor amounts to 50 ; the money contributed in
the Church for their support amounts to about £15 sterling
in the year. The number of people, exclusive of the
inhabitants of the Fort, is 802 ; there are only a few
Seceders dissenting from the national Church.
Miscellaneous Information. — The Gaelic and English
languages are spoken with equal readiness.
There is a considerable village, Campbeltown, contain-
ing about 300 inhabitants, which has been raised in con-
sequence of the occasions of the garrison. It maintains 8
boats, from 5 to 8 tons burden, employed in the white
and herring fishery ; the herring are chiefly sold to
fishing busses. Salmon are also caught in the Frith.
On the boundary of the parish of Nairn there is a rude
Obelisk about G feet in height, reported to have been
erected on the grave of a Chief, who lost his life in a silly
scuffle about a cheese.] (Survey of the Province of
Moray.)
318 THE VARIOUS BARONIES IN PETTIE.
Westward on the coast is
THE PABISH OF PETTIE
Is pleasantly situated in a plain betwixt the Firth
and the hills towards Strathnairn. It is in length
from east to west near 5 miles, and in breadth
not above 1J mile.
The Church standeth on a rising ground, a
furlong from the sea, almost 2 miles from the
west end of the parish, 5 miles north-east from
Inverness, 4 miles south-west from Ardersier,
and near 3 miles north-west from Croy.
The barony of Pettie was anciently a part of
the Earldom of Moray, but upon the death of
Earl Archibald Douglas, anno 1455, the Castles
of Inverness and Urquhart, and the lordships of
them, the water mails of Inverness, the Lordship
of Abernethie, the baronies of Urquhart, Glen-
urchan, Boneich, Bonochar, Pettie, Brachlie, and
Strathern, with the pertinents, were annexed to
the Crown (Act Parl. 1455). Some time after
this the Laird of Findlater held the barony of
Pettie of the Crown, and afterwards of the Earl
of Moray. I find that Elizabeth, daughter of
Sir James Dunbar of Cumnock, who died in
1505, was married to John Ogilvie of Strathnairn
(Pen. West/.). Ogilvie resided at Hallhill in
Pettie. Lachlan, Laird of Macintosh, being
murdered by some of his Clan in 1524, James,
Earl of Moray, committed the young Laird of
THE FORTIFIED HOUSE OF HALHILL. 319
Macintosh (who was his nephew) to the care
of the Laird of Strathnairn. The Macintoshes
resented this as an indignity, demolished the
house of Hallhill, and killed 24 of the Ogilvies
about the year 1531 (M.S. Hist. Macintosh and
KilravocJc). It is probable that this barbarous
treatment induced Findlater to dispone his right
of Strathnairn, Pettie, and Borlum, to the Earl
of Moray.
THE HERSHIP OF PETTY.
[Near the west end of the Moss of Petty, and opposite
the Dalcross Station, may be seen to the right the parish
School-house, on a gentle rising ground, formerly said to
have been an island, surrounded with its moat and lake.
On it once stood the fortified House or Castle of Halhill,
the scene of a marauding raid in 1513, called "The Her-
ship of Petty," the spulzie taken or destroyed at which
gives a good idea of the plenishing of a wealthy baron's
residence in those days, and a favourable view of the
agriculture of the district, if all the corns were of native
growth. This hership was the work of the Mackintoshes,
the Roses, Dallas of Cantray, Stewart of Clava, and Ross
Kinsteary, aided by Donle More Macgilliecallum. The
House of Pettie, called Halhill, was then occupied by
John Ogilvie, son of the deceased Sir William Ogilvie of
Strathearn, Knight, who is said to have obtained Petty
from James IV., because his wife, called " Nanny Pant,"
an Englishwoman, was the first to communicate to the
King the birth of his son, afterwards James V. The
Mackintoshes were not likely to sympathise with this
parental feeling, which deprived them of their ancient
possession. They attacked the house and plundered the
barony, root and branch. Thereafter the Lords of the
Council decreed that all the rich "spulzie" should be
given back and full restitution made. The plunderers,
however, had at least three years' possession, and it is
doubtful whether Halhill was ever again seen in its
former glory. The Mackintoshes afterwards, in 1543, got
320 THE THAKEDOM OF CALDER AND EASTER BRACHLIE.
a new liferent back of Petty, and went on combating with
their deadly enemies — the Earls of Moray and Huntly—
and sill others who dared to " TOUCH THE CAT EOT A
GLOVE" — their emblazoned motto.] (See Andersons'
Guide to the Highlands. — ED.)
In the east end of the parish is Calder's
Brachlie, a skirt of the Thanedorn of Calder.
Near to it is Easter Brachlie, pertaining to Kil-
ravock. All the rest of the parish is the property
of the Earl of Moray, except a small feu in the
west end called Alterlies, which pertaineth to
Forbes of Culloden. Near the Church standeth
Castle Stewart, one of the seats of the Earl of
Moray, but now out of repair ; and near thereto
is a Corn-mill, set agoing by the Sea-water.
PETTY.
[Situation, Soil, Climate. — A circuit up into the moun-
tain and back again to the shore, through 6 parishes, has
made no advance in the course towards the west ; for the
parish of Petty lies next to Airdersier, in a progress up
the Frith from the east; it extends 8 miles along the
shore, and inland for about the half of that extent. The
face of the country is nearly level, containing large tracts
of cultivated h'eld, where it rises gently into the moun-
tain ; they are separated by brooks, which in some places
fall over the rocks in natural cascades ; and, besides tufts
of trees almost at every farmhouse, the Earl of Moray's
plantations of fir, and oak, and other forest trees, in
different places, have clothed more than 500 acres, which
about 20 years ago were bleak and barren heath. The
soil in part is a fertile black mould, but the greater pro-
portion of it is sandy and light, yet capable of being
cultivated to good account by grass seed and the other
green crops. Although the ground is rather flat, there
are no marshes nor stagnate water. The air is generally
serene, and the climate dry, the crops being frequently
damaged by drought in the summer months.
CASTLE STEWART, PARISH OF PETTIE. 321
State of Property. — The parish, in the Sheriffdom of
Inverness, except a small spot in the county of Nairn, is
possessed by 4 proprietors, of whom the Earl of Moray
has the valued rent of £2423 10s. Arthur Forbes of
Culloden, Esq., £441 15s. James Rose of Brea, Esq.,
£157 3s. And Lord Cawdor £120, extending the valued
rent of the parish to the sum of £3142 8s.
Castle Stewart, a large old building on the Earl of
Moray's property, has been for many years uninhabitable.
It is surrounded by an extensive grove, which shelters a
spacious garden and orchard, distinguished by varieties of
strawberiy and a species of small cherry, the black and
red geen, transplanted from Kent about a century ago by
Alexander Earl of Moray.
The number of farmers is not less than 90, of whom .5
or 4 pay from £60 to £100 of rent ; the greater part only
vary from £20 to £25. There are several below £10.
And besides these, a number of still smaller tenants are
planted as improvers of waste ground, with cottagers,
who are labourers and mechanics, and as many fishers as
man 3 boats. The greater part of the land is let from
12s. to 14s. the acre, some of the best as high as £1, and
some as low as os., making the mean rent about 14s. the
acre.
State Ecclesiastical. — The Church is inconveniently
placed on a spot almost detached from the parish, near
the manse, on an eminence rising from the head of a
small bay which sets in from the Frith, The stipend is
£30 sterling, and 78 bolls of barley and meal. The glebe
is about 10 acres of poor light soil. The Earl of Moray
holds the right of patronage. The school is in a pretty
central situation, about half a mile from the Church.
The salary is 12 bolls of oatmeal, collected in small but
various proportions from among all the tenants. The
scholars are numerous, but with the fees and official per-
quisites as Session-Clerk, the whole appointment exceeds
not £20 sterling yearly. The poor are not numerous,
owing to the great and increasing scarcity of fuel, but the
country is much infested with beggar vagabonds from
other parishes. The provision for the parochial poor is
contributed in the assemblies of public worship; it
amounts to about £G yearly. The number of inhabitants
is 1518, of which a few are Dissenter Antiburghers.
VOL. II. 21
322 PARISHES OF PETTIE AND INVERNESS.
Miscellaneous Information. — The inhabitants are
sober, industrious, and peaceable. They have frequent
convivial meetings, where, after spending some hours
cheerfully, they part in a friendly manner. Drinking to
excess and quarrelling are accounted reproachful, and
those addicted to these are avoided. They show attach-
ments to old fashions ; the plaid is the only part of the
Highland dress which is generally laid aside, but the
women have adopted more of the dress of their sex in the
low country than the men. About 40 years ago there
were oysters in this part of the Frith, but, one small spot
excepted, they are now entirely gone. The water is
shallow near the shore, and the sea retires to a great
distance. There are places where a commodious harbour
for the smaller vessels might be made at little expense.
There are 4 corn-mills in the parish, one is turned by the
flux and reflux of the tide. There are 2 earthen mounts
near the Church, evidently artificial ; they are composed
of sand enclosed in a cover of sod, exactly circular, con-
tracted gradually from the base, 150 feet in circumfer-
ence, to the top only 120, perfectly level at the height of
42 feet. Their name, TOM MHOIT, the Court Hill, imports
they were intended for the administration of justice.]
(Survey of the Province of Moray.)
Next to Pettie, westward, is
THE TOWN AND PARISH OF INVERNESS.
The town standeth on the east hank of the
Kiver Ness, a little above the mouth of it. It
consisteth of two streets, cutting one another,
from south to north and from east to west. The
buildings are good and convenient, all of stone.
In one of the angles, at the intersection of the
streets, standeth the (Tolbooth and Court House,
adorned with a lofty steeple and a clock ; and in
an opposite angle is the Town House, a large
building of modern work. The Churches stand
CROMWELL'S FORT; WOODEN BRIDGE, INVERNESS. 323
— — — 1 __^_____^__
on the. river bank at the north end of the town,
and near to them is Dunbar's Hospital, a large
house with a garden, mortified by Provost Alex.
Dunbar. Below the Churches is the harbour,
which receive th merchant ships, but standeth too
open to the strong west wind, and close by the
harbour are the vestiges of Cromwell's Fort. In
the middle of the town is the Bridge, of seven
arches and beautiful architecture, with a prison-
room in one of the pillars. Formerly there stood
here a bridge of wood, supported by pillars of
oak, some of which are yet to be seen. It fell on
the 28th September, 1664, and though more than
a hundred persons who stood on it dropt all into
the river no life was lost (M.S. Hist, of Lovat).
The present Bridge was finished about the year
1686. Several gentlemen contributed liberally
for it, and by an Act of Privy Council there was
a collection for it through the Diocese. The
Council's Act and Eecommendation was for a
general collection throughout the whole king-
dom, and no doubt brought in a considerable
sum. Sir Hugh Campbell of Calder gave £400
Scots, the Laird of MacLeod £800, the Ministers
of the Diocese of Moray ,£500 (Syn. Reg.).
Others likewise contributed liberally. On the
west bank of the river there is a large suburbs of
two streets, and a little above the town there is
a pleasant little Island in the river, where the
magistrates entertain strangers with salmon
324 EARLIEST CHARTERS OF INVERNESS.
killed in their presence with spears. The town
is very populous, and the houses being too much
crowded, and the streets narrow, under the
Castlehill and Barnhill the air is thick and moist.
The parish lieth on both sides of the river.
On the west side it extendeth 8 miles and on the
east 4 miles. The town standeth 5 miles south-
west from Pettie, 5 miles almost east from Kirk-
hill, 5 miles north from Durris, and 4 miles west-
by-north from Daviot. The town lands lie
adjacent to it (Vide Civ. Hist.'), and the countiy
parish is full of gentlemen's seats.
[Inverness, like other of our Scotch towns, owes its
origin, at a very early date, to its convenient situation as
a sea-port, and to its river, being likewise admirably
situated, as the centre of a large district, and opening
easily to both the Lowlands and the Mountainous circle
by which it is surrounded. Its earliest charters are from
David, William the Lion, and Alexander. In the latter
the King orders the town to be surrounded by a ditch
and good paling (fossa et bona palicio); and, by the
privileges which are granted to the Moravians (Moravi-
enses Mei), it seems evident that the monarch meant to
colonise Inverness with his low country subjects, probably
for the purpose of civilizing the barbarians of the High-
lands. This plan has, probably, been aided by the estab-
lishment of Religious Houses in the town. As early as
the reign of Alexander II., 1215, a Royal grant is recorded
in the Chartulary of Moray to that Bishoprick of the
barony of Kinmylies, which remained with it till 1544,
when Bishop Patrick Hepburn sold it to Lord Lovat. In
the same reign there is an entry in the Chartulary of
these words — " Thane et firmarii suppositure Kinmylies,"
which Lord Hales quotes, in order to prove that, anciently,
the term Thane meant not always Comes or Count, but
the head-director of a district or barony. About 1280,
the Count of St. Pol, being wrecked in the Orkneys,
ANCIENT COINS AND AN AMULET FOUND. 325
passed the winter in Inverness, and built a ship in Inver-
ness in which he returned to France the succeeding
summer.
Long before this period the Castle of Invei'ness (pro-
bably situated where the foundations of buildings have
been lately dug up, upon the hill, near the Mill Burn,
called the Auld Castle Hill) was celebrated as the place
where, early in the llth century, Macbeth murdered King
Duncan. In these ruins several ancient coins were found,
and a leaden amulet perforated with a leather cord, which
is now at Muirtown. The amulet bears two keys crossed
saltire ways, and the letter I between the handles of the
keys. The Battle of Clachnahary [the Watchman's Stone],
fought, by different accounts, in 1341 and 1378 (Shaw
makes it in 1454, quoting the Macintosh and Lovat
manuscripts), was a bloody contest between the Clan
Chattan and Munroes, about a mile west of Inverness.
Many human bones have been found among the rocks ;
and the proprietor of Muirtown, in 1822, has ornamented
the spot by erecting a handsome Monument in memory
of the event. In 1411, Donald of the Isles burnt the
greatest part of Inverness and the beautiful Oak Bridge
in his march to Harlow. James I., about 1440, in his
progress, visited Inverness, and had many desperate
robbers seized and executed. His exclamation upon the
occasion is recorded: — "Ad turrim fortem caute duce
cohortem Christi per Sortem Quia hi meruent mortem." *
Towards the end of the loth century, the town was
visited by James III. during his troubles, and he granted
a charter to the community; among other grants renewing
that of the lands of Merkinch for the redendum of one
pound of pepper annually. In 1555 Mary of Guise visited
Inverness, and in 1562 her daughter, Queen Mary, paid a
visit of some short continuance. The Governor of the
Castle making some delay in receiving the Queen was
hanged upon the bridge, which circumstance seems to
have had little effect upon the Queen's gaiety, for Ran-
dolph writes, that he was present when the guards came
into town with Jack and knapsack, and the Queen being
informed that they had been watching all night in the
* Translation. — By a cautious leader, a strong band, through
the providence of Christ, brought quietly to the Tower, for
they deserved death.
326 CASTLE OF CALLODEN ; CITADEL OF INVERNESS.
fields, she said merrily that she wished she had been with
them. A few years after this, the Regent Moray came to
Inverness, and the chief of the Clan Gunn was hanged for
"taking the Crown of the causeway from the Earl of
Moray." In 1625 the town of Inverness suffered much
oppression by the heavy fines levied upon many of the
merchants by the Earl of Moray, acting under a commis-
sion from the King. The cause was their having furnished
some small articles, such as salt and soap, to the Clan
Chattan, at that time in rebellion. Mr. Forbes of Cul-
loden, by going to London, got the inhabitants some
redress, as appears by the Papers published in the Cul-
loden Collection.
The Castle of Culloden, long the chief building in the
parish, was founded about 1624 by Macintosh, who, about
1625, sold the estate to Mr. Forbes. Early in the 17th
century, the Earl of Huntly, Lord Lovat, and many of the
northern chiefs residing in Inverness, that town became
the centre of much conviviality and gaiety, which was
succeeded by a long period of military troubles during
the contests between the Royal and Covenant parties, in
the reign of Charles I. During the early part of Crom-
well's government, the person whom he sent to survey
the sea-ports of Scotland (1651) reports Inverness as
possessing but little shipping, and but one merchant of
any consequence.
In 1652 Cromwell commenced the Citadel of Inverness,
and it was finished in 5 years. This work is said to have
cost £80,000 sterling. The oak came from England. The
Religious Houses of Kinloss and Inverness were dilapi-
dated for the mason work, and Struy is said to have
received 30,000 merks for the fir timber. Upon the
ramparts the standard of Cromwell was erected, having
the word EMANUEL in large gold letters. This work was
a small pentagon, with counterscarp, covered way and
glacis, surrounded at full tide with water sufficient to
float a small barge. The breastwork was three storeys
high, all of hewn stone, and lined with brick inside. The
sally-port lay towards the town. The principal gateway
was to the north, where was a strong drawbridge of oak
and a stately structure over it, with this motto, TOGAM
TUENTUR ARMA — Awis presei've the Gown.
From this bridge the Citadel was approached by a
VAULT IN THE TIMBER BRIDGE OF INVERNESS. 327
vault 70 feet long, with seats on each side. In the centre
of the Fort stood a large square building, three storeys
high, the lower storey contained the granary and magazine.
In the highest was a church, well finished, within a
pavilion roof, surmounted by a steeple with a clock and
four bells. At the south-east stood a long building, four
storeys high, called " the English Building," because built
by English masons, and opposite to it a similar one
erected by Scottish architects. The accommodations
altogether would lodge 1,000 men. So abundant were the
provisions and supplies of the garrison that a Scots pint
of claret was sold for a shilling, and cloth was bought as
cheap as in England. Upon the Restoration, Charles II.
gratified the Highland Chiefs by having it dismantled, in
which state it still shows its original dimensions.
In 1664 the Timber Bridge of Inverness suddenly fell,
and was, in three years thereafter, replaced by the present
stone bridge of seven arches, a work, certainly, of great
magnificence for that period. A narrow and dismal vault
between the first and second arches from the east end,
lighted by a little grated window on the upper side of
the bridge, was long used as a prison, and latterly as a
place for confinement of lunatics. It was shut up in 1800
on account of a maniac having been almost devoured
by rats.
In 1665 the townsmen suffered much oppression from
the Macdonalds, which was repeated after the abdication
of James II. in 1689. In 1690 the last wolf known to
have been seen at large in this kingdom was killed above
the House of Kinmylies, about a mile and a half from
Inverness. Captain Frank, one of Cromwell's officers,
probably in a lurking expedition, after the Restoration,
came to Inverness; he describes the Citadel as a veiy
superb work. The walls which fortified the town, he
says, were then tumbling into ruin ; and the soldiers of
General Dean had, during Cromwell's time, drawn the
first galley from the river at Inverness overland to the
end of Loch Ness, an exertion worthy of the energy of
the soldiers of Cromwell. From this period Inverness
became the regular place of arms in the north.
At the commencement of the operations for the Royal
succession in 1715, the town of Inverness was first seized
for the Jacobite interest by the exertions of Alexander
328 ELECTION OF THE TWO FORTS GEORGE.
Duff of Drummuir, who introduced his son-in-law, the
Laird of Macintosh, into the town at the head of his clan ;
and the Magistrates being much under Druminuir's influ-
ence, he having been Member of Parliament and Provost
for Inverness, seemed strongly on the side of the Stuart
dynasty. The exertions of Culloden and Kilravock, aided
by Lord Lovat, however, were effectual in recovering this
important post for the King (George the First), though
not without some contest and bloodshed. The Castle was
soon afterwards much augmented and repaired, and
received the name of Fort George, which it retained till
blown up after the Battle of Culloden ; soon after which
event the present fort of that name was erected upon the
promontory of Ardersier, the Magistrates having refused
their consent to the erection near Inverness, an act of
folly which indisputably deprived the town of the means
of beauty and riches, which would have rendered it one
of the most elegant and imposing capitals in the kingdom.
Thus its two ancient Castles are no more, and its Citadel,
erected by Cromwell, only faintly shows its original
outlines, while their present succedaneum is too far
removed to add to the appearance and importance of
Inverness.
Captain Carleton describes it about 1 690 and Captain
Burt about 1730-8. The latter states that, at the Union,
few houses in the town were slated. The Castle was
repaired and augmented, being then, and long before this
period, situated upon the small hill close to the river;
and although his description of the natives is by no
means calculated to please the pride of the Invernessians,
still the evident truth of his narrative must disarm even
prejudice of its anger.
During the Rebellion in 1745, the town of Inverness
was the chief scene of the exertions of both parties, and
for some time the residence of Prince Charles and the
Duke of Cumberland, who both successively occupied the
same bed in the house of Catherine Duff, Lady Drummuir,
in Church Street. It was almost the only house in the
town in which there was a room without a bed. This
old lady used to say "that she had lodged twa kings'
bairns, but never wish'd to lodge any more." The exer-
tions of that great man, President Forbes, and Lord
Lovat, were long the themes of the narratives of the
VITRIFIED FORT OF CRAIG PHADRICK, INVERNESS. 329
persons who were witnesses of the different actions of
these persons at Inverness.
From the Union till many years after the Battle of
Culloden the town was evidently in a state of progressive
decay, but for the last 40 or 50 years a new stimulus has
been given. The parish and town have started into new
life, and display on every side the effects of wealth,
industry, and liberality of enterprise. The journey to
Edinburgh, which used to consume a week, and to guard
.against the accidents of which people have made their
Wills, is now performed in a day. Elegant architecture
on every side adds to the natural beauties of the situation
of the town, and the great Canal promises, by joining the
Eastern and Western Oceans at Inverness, to make it in
-a short time the Queen of the North, and the emporium
of many a distant shore.
Of antiquities, the town contains but few worthy of
notice. The Grey Friars had a slated house here, sold, at
the Reformation, to Inches ; one pillar of the Grey Friars
Church alone remains. About the vitrified Fort of Craig
Phadrick much has been written. It is situated upon the
estate of Muirtown, above a mile west of the town, and
has evidently been a stronghold, containing an area of
about 80 yards by 40, for the purpose of communicating
signals by means of fires. It is at about equal distance
from Knockfarril, Dunevan, and Dungardel, which are all
in view from the top. The vitrified masses are evidently
the deposits of the walls for retaining the burning wood,
for as no vitrified masses are found in situations where
such means of constructing walls might from their greater
weakness be more naturally expected, it is not probable
that such means of strength would be contemplated for
the tops of hills. The Romans left the kingdom without
arms or energy, and, during the long night of eight
centuries after their retreat, the miserable natives had to
suffer the constant descents of the northern tribes, and
had their safety alone to look to, from being early apprized
of the appearance of their fleets. Many bones and burnt
wood have been, by the proprietor, dug up upon Craig
Phadrick.
Castle Spinitan is a ruin, situated upon a small pro-
montory, near the end of Loch Ness. This Castle has
been supposed the remains of the Roman station Bonatium,
330 SILVER COINS FOUND NEAR GREY FRIARS' HOUSE.
which the name of Bona (its present appellation) seems
to countenance, as well as the form of the ditches and
agger. It has, however, more modernly been one of those
forts which formed a line of defence from the Eastern to
the Western Seas ; and with Lochindorb Castle, Inver-
ness, Castle Spinitan, Castle Urquhart, and Inverlochty
Castle, the communication was easy and straight. The
Cummins and the English, after the invasion of Edward I.,.
occupied the strongholds.
Of Druidical Circles, there are several in the parish.
About 20 years ago a double-linked silver chain (each
link as thick as a man's little finger) was dug up in the
progress of making the Caledonian Canal, near the Bught.
It contained about 15 double links, and this curiosity has
at last been decided to form part of a dog couple —
certainly the property of some personage Royal, or little
below the rank of Royalty.
A gold trilateral rod, 15 inches long, and with hooks
at each end, has been found lately upon the lands of
Leys in ploughing some new lands. This has, probably,
been the means of suspending a lamp, and if the value of
gold and silver is considered in the olden times, these
ancient remains of splendour must attest the rank of the
persons residing in Inverness.
About 3 years ago several hundreds of silver coins
were found in a jar near the site of the ancient Grey
Friars' House — they were of the reigns of Henry III.,
Edward I., and some other kings nearly contemporary,
and have probably been concealed at some period of
sudden alarm, and through some casualty have been forgot.
A gold coin of Edward III. has been found near Dunain,
and is now at Muirton. The arms of France and England
are quartered upon one side ; upon the other is a Cross,
with four Leopards ; in the angles, Exaltat gloria crucem.
At the Bught (Killivean) many bones and the stone-
head of a battle-axe were dug up about 40 years ago.
Although Boethius speaks highly of the fruitful soil
and wheat crops near Inverness, Mr. Burt gives the most
miserable view of the state of agriculture in his time, and
says a wheat field would be as great a rarity in the north
as a Cat-a-Mountain (or Mountain Cat) in Middlesex.
At present the crops are as plentiful, and the seasons as
early, in Inverness parish as anywhere north of Tweed,
THE HOUSE OF CULLODEN AND ITS PROPRIETOES. 331
and as much so as a great part of England. Peachesr
nectarines, apricots, and all wall- plants, ripen in the
greatest perfection, so that many have remarked those
fruits as superior to any not ripened by means of hot-
houses which they had seen in more southern climates — a
fact, probably, owing to the great length of the action of
the sun during the long days of summer in the north.
The Gardens of Culloden, Muirtown, Dochfourne, Drakies,
Bught, and many others, are remarkable for fine and early
fruit of the finest kinds. In short, from the great liber-
ality of Government, and from the expenditure of indi-
viduals, this Northern Capital is on the eve of emerging
with a consequence and grandeur hitherto beyond the
reach of the most sanguine hopes.] (See Grant's Edition
of Shaw's History of Moray ; and Editor.)
On the east side of the river, 2 miles north-
east of the town is Culloden, a good old house,
gardens well laid out, with much planting, which
make it an agreeable seat. This land belonged
to a gentleman of the name of Strachan, who
married the daughter of Hugh Rose of Kilravock
that died anno 1543. Of that marriage there
were only two daughters portioners, and the
Laird of Macintosh purchased from them and
their hushands the rights of that barony. Mac-
intosh built a part of the House of Culloden, and
his successor sold the barony about the year
1626 to (1) Duncan Forbes, son of Tolquhon and
Provost of Inverness, whose son (2) John of
Culloden, purchased Fairentosh and Bunchrive
anno 1673. His son (3) Duncan, was father of
(4) John, who had no issue, and of Duncan, Lord
President of the Session, who died the 10th
December, 1747. His son (5) John has left (6)
332 DRAKIES; INCHES; ESSICH; COULDUTHIL, ETC.
Arthur, now of Culloden. Of this family is
Forbes of Pitnacrief.
South-west is Easter Drakies, the property of
Hugh Falconer, merchant in Inverness ; and
Wester Drakies, pertaining to the estate which
belonged to Cuthbert of Castlehill, both holding
of the town of Inverness. Next is the barony of
Castlehill. In the reign of King David II.,
Susanna and Adda were sisters and heiresses of
Castlehill, and a gentleman of the name of
Cuthbert marrying Susanna, became thereby
Baron of Castlehill (MS. Hist, of Kilr.). From
that time the Cuthberts have been in possession
of these lands.
Further is the barony of Inches, the first of
which family was a son of Eobertson of Strowan,
who married the widow of Cuthbert of Castlehill
about 1548, and his son became Laird of Inches,
which was a part of the barony of Castlehill.
Arthur Eobertson of Inches now represents the
family.
The lands of Essich are the farthest south, and
are a part of Macintosh's estate. Below Essich
towards the river are Coulduthil, Knocknagial,
and Torbreak, all Castle lands. Torbreak was
the property of Captain William Baillie, and by
a judicial sale in 1758, became the property of
Doctor James Frazer, son of Phopachie. And
on the side of the river is Holm, this is the fief
of Alexander Macintosh of Holm, a branch of
MARKINCH; MUIKTOWN; KYLMILES ; DUNEAN. 333
the family of Kylachie, who have possessed this
small estate ever since the year 1614, and hold it
mainly of Campbell of Calder.
I pass now to the west side of the River Ness.
At the mouth of it is Markinch. This for 150
years was the property of Eose of Wester Drakies
and his descendants, and has lately been purchased
in a judicial sale by James Frazer of Phopachie.
Next is the barony of Muirtown, a part of the
estate of Lovat, sold about the year 1620 to
Thomas Skivez for 2,000 merks Scots (MS. Hist,
of Lovat). His descendants lately sold it to Sir
Ludowick Grant of Grant, who disponed it to
William Duff, third son of Alexander Duff of
Drummuir. Farther south is Kylmiles, a part,
of the Bishop's lands of Orkney, purchased by
Thomas, Lord Lovat, from Bishop William
Tulloch about the year 1464. It was afterwards
sold to Colonel Hugh Frazer of Kinerries, who
disponed it to Mr. David Poison. From him it
was purchased by Alexander Frazer (son of David
Frazer Baillie of Inverness) of Fairfield, who
lately sold it to George Ross of Pitkerries, mer-
chant in London. Next up the river is the barony
of Dunean. This family has enjoyed this barony
about 300 years. The first of it was a son of
Baillie of Hoprig and Lamington, who, for his
brave behaviour as a volunteer in the Battle of
Brechin, anno 1452, was soon after rewarded by
the Earl of Huntly with this and other lands, a
334 DOCHGARACH ; DOCHFOURE ; ABERIACHAN.
part of the Castle lands of Inverness. South of
Dunean is Dochgarach, the property for some
generations of a branch of the MacLeans. Next
to which is Dochfoure, pertaining to Baillie of
Dochfoure, a branch of the family of Dunean.
The very upper end of the parish is Aberiachan,
in the face of the hill, at the side of Loch Ness.
This is a part of the barony of Urquhart, pertain-
ing to Sir James Grant of Grant, of whom Ewan
Baillie, son of Dochfoure, holdeth it in mortgage.
Following the course of the river, I now come to
THE PARISH OF DUERIS,
From Dur, i.e. water, because the parish lieth
on the side of the river and the Loch of Ness.
Before I proceed further, I shall shew the
course of the River Ness ; and if we trace it to
its fountain, we shall find the springs of it in the
hills of Knoidart, and its course thus : to Loch
Queich, 4 miles; Loch Queich, 7; to Loch Garie,
9 ; Loch Garie, 5 ; to Loch Eoich, 2. All this
course is from west to east, and Garie falleth into
the middle of Loch Eoich, which is 4 miles long;
so to the end of Loch Eoich, 2 miles ; to Loch
Ness, 4 ; length of Loch Ness, 22 ; to Inverness,
5 : in all 60 miles. The course from Loch Eoich
is from S.S.W. to N;N.E.; from the Moray Firth
at Inverness, to Fort William, is one continued
valley of 48 Scots miles, running from N.N.E.
to S.S.W. , without any bending, except that it
..;.. SITUATION OF THE PARISH OF DURRIS. 335
turneth one point towards the west, from Loch
Lochie to Fort William. It is called Glean-mor-
na-halben, i.e. the great valley of Scotland. Loch
Ness lieth in this valley, and is in length about
23 English miles ; at the north end it is 3 miles
broad, and thence gradually tapereth, so that at
the south end it is not 2 miles broad. It has no
bending, no bay, except a small one at Urquhart.
The high hills on both sides, are so variegated
with hanging rocks, shady groves of wood, mur-
muring cascades, and streams of water, and some
plots of corn land, that, to one who sails the
loch in the summer season, they present a most
charming landscape.
This parish extendeth about 6 miles from north
to south, and as much from east to west. The
Church standeth at the north-east corner of the
loch, 5 miles south of Inverness, 7 miles north of
Bolesken, and 6 miles south-west of Daviot. The
lower and champaign part of the parish compre-
hendeth the baronies of Borlum and Durris.
Above Inverness, 3 miles on the river, is Borlum.
This was a part of the estate of the Earl of
Moray ; and after the forfeiture of Earl Archibald
Douglas, the Laird of Findlater obtained this
barony and held it of the Crown, and his son
was designed Ogilvie of Cardale. Findlater con-
veyed his right to Stewart Earl of Moray, and
Earl James disponed " Borlum cum Fortalicio,
with the fishing on the Eiver Ness, the lands of
336 BORLUM ; KINCHYLE ; IN THE PARISH OF DURRIS.
Coulard and Kinchyle, the Loch of Lochindorbr
the houses within the same, cum adjacentibu^
shelingis, to Sir John Campbell of Calder, 31st
October, 1606 (Pen. Cald.)." Borlum was there-
after given in feu to William Macintosh of Bor-
lum. The barony of Borlum, was feued by Shaw
Macintosh, late of Borlum, to his cousins Wil-
liam and Angus Macintoshes, Bailies of Inver-
ness, but redeemable by him in a certain term of
years. At the expiring of that term, the barony
was brought to a public sale, and was purchased
by Simon Fraser, merchant in Gibraltar, son to
John Fraser (MacTavish), late merchant in In-
verness, who lately sold the lands to John Fraserr
Writer to the Signet, his brother. Kinchyle
lying south of Borlum, was, in 1685, feued to
William MacBean, whose ancestors had the
Duchus or possession thereof for many genera-
tions. .Tradition beareth, that Bean-mor, son
of Maolmuir MacGilonie, of the ancient Clan
Chattan, came to this country with Lad}* Macin-
tosh, heiress of Clan Chattan, soon after the
year 1291, and was the ancestor and chief of the
MacBeans, now represented by the son of Giliose
MacBean, who was killed in the Battle of Cul-
loden anno 1746.
Next thereto, and on the loch, is the barony of
Durris. This was a part of the estate of Sir
Alexander Dunbar of Westfield, "who disponed
Durris, half of Holm, Little Bellacheranich,
BAEONY OF DURRIS ; AULDARIE; DRUMMIN ; ERCHIT. 337
Tirchirochan, and Dalmigvie in Strathern, in
favour of his son David Dunbar, 27th October,
1495 ; and, by a charter under the Great Seal,
17th December, 1569, these lands were erected
into a free barony, of which Lopan (the seat of
the family) was the principal messuage. Like-
wise, Alexander Earl of Dunfermline sold the
Kirk lands of Durris (a part of the lands of the
priory of Urquhart), to Mark Dunbar anno 1592,
reserving the patronage and teinds; and Mark
Dunbar disponed the whole barony to Sir John
Campbell of Calder, 4th August, 1608, who, in
1610, purchased from Dunfermline the patronage
of Dalcross, and the patronage and teinds of
Durris." (Pen. Cald.).
Durris and Auldaurie were sold by Calder in
feu to Macintosh of Kylachie, who conveyed his
right to Bailie John Barbour, of Inverness, whose
son disponed in favour of William Eraser, writer
in Edinburgh, and son of Balnaine.
South of the Church are the lands of Drummin,
possessed long by the MacBeans, and now the
property of Angus Macintosh, merchant in Inver-
ness, and grandson to Borlum.
Next thereto, is Erchit, the property of the
said William Eraser, writer in Edinburgh. In
the hilly part of the parish, are the lands of
Bochrubin, Dundelchag, &c., pertaining to Mac-
intosh, and other lands, a part of the estate of
Lovat.
VOL. ii. 22
338 STATE OF PROPERTY IN THE PARISH OF DURRIS.
DURRIS.
[Situation, Soil, Climate. — This parish extends along
the river and lake of Ness, from the borders of the parish
of Inverness, about 20 miles, to that of Boleskin. Its
Gaelic name, dar-uish, awkwardly expresses its situation,
signifying water of water — the river of or from the lake.
Its eastern side borders with Daviot and Dunlighty, and
its breadth is nearly 4 miles. It may in general be
regarded as a valley, between mountains upon the south
and north. By this situation, the winds are for the
greater part from the west or the east; and in dry
summers, did not heavy dews commonly fall during the
night of a warm day, the corn and grass would be quite
parched. The soil is generally light: in some parts of
the higher grounds it is the best ; and in seasons free of
frost or very frequent rains, it is very productive. The
air is esteemed salubrious. The lake of Dandlechak, as
well as that of Lochness, is partly within the bounds of
this parish.
State of Property. — The parish is shared among 8
proprietors. Mr. Fraser Tytler, advocate, has Balnain, at
the valuation of £880 6s. 8d. Alexander Fraser, of Dell,
Esq., has the valuation of £90 10s. lOd. James Fraser,
of Gortuleg, Esq., Writer to the Signet, that of £59 18s. Id.
Simon Fraser, of Farralin, Esq., £59 16s. Simon Fraser,
Esq., of Coleman Street, London, £533 6s. 8d. The valu-
ation of the Lovat estate in this parish is £392 9s. od.
.dilneas Mackintosh of Mackintosh, Esq., holds the valu-
ation of £90, and David Davidson, of Cantray, Esq., that
of £73 15s., extending the total valuation of the parish to
£2180 2s. 8d.
State Ecclesiastical. — The Church and Manse are situ-
ated towards the middle of the parish, upon the end of
the lake of Ness, near where it begins to discharge the
river. The stipend is £40 sterling, 24 bolls of barley, and
24 bolls of oatmeal. The right of patronage appertains
to Lord Cawdor. The school is not flourishing: the
salary is £5 11s., and the number of scholars about 20.
The poor amount to the number of 60 : about £4 yearly
is contributed by the people in their assemblies for public
worship ; to which there is the farther provision of the
interest of £70, bequeathed by gentlemen once landholders
THE FATHER OF OSSIAN ; THE CHAIR OF FINGAL. 339
of the parish. The number of the people amounts to
1365, of whom a very small proportion are distinguished
as Dissenters.
Miscellaneous Information. — The memorial of the
thraldom and incursions of the Danes is still preserved
in this country, as well as on the coast of Moray. About
3 miles inward from Loch Ness, the vestiges of a For-
tress, known by the appellation of Chastal dun ri-chuan
(the strong Castle of the King of the Ocean), reminds us,
that Britannia did not always rule the waves, but that
the kings of Norway and Denmark once assumed the
title of the Masters of the Sea ; and suggests the hum-
bling speculation of the rank we should now hold among
nations, were times such as these to return. Yet these
were the times when the heroes of Morven moved in
their strength; when the King of Selma shone in the
brightest robe of renown. Their tombs still rise on the
heath : their fame still rests on the stones. Here fought
the father of Ossian ; and here fell the son of the Norwe-
gian king. Many piles of stone mark the dark dwellings
of the slain : one, larger than the rest together, rises over
their youthful chief: his name, Ashee, transferred to the
adjoining hill, is still recognised in Drumash ; and Sheire
fiann (the chair of Fingal) is shown as the seat of that
hero, when the roar of battle ceased along the heath, when
he retired from the strife of the field.
About 9 miles from Dun-Ri-Chuan, another Fortress,
Dundaradel, is recognized as one of that chain of strong
holds, which the state of society then required, for trans-
mitting telegraphing signals from the one shore to the
other along the great vale, from the German Ocean at
Inverness to the Atlantic at Fort William.
The people now, with very few exceptions, live in
peaceful industry. The deer and roe still bound over the
desert, and herd in the extensive plantations of fir, in
which the lower part of the parish is clothed. But oats,
barley, and potatoe, are the principal productions of the
soil : upon the last of these, the poorer class in a great
measure depend for their frugal subsistence.] (Survey of
the Province of Moray.}
340 SIGNIFICATION OF BOLESKIN.
BOLE SKIN PARISH.
The parish of Boleskin and Abertarf, which
lieth on the east side, and the south end of the
loch. Boleskin parish (Baloscian, i. e., the town
over the Loch, for the Church standeth on the
face of the hill, over the Loch Ness) is properly
Stratherik, or StrathfarigacJc, scattered in the
valleys betwixt Loch Ness and the hills towards
Badenoch. The Church standeth near the
Loch, 7 miles south of Durris, and 12 north of
Kilhuiman.
Here entering the country of the Frasers, I
shall speak of
THE FAMILY OF LOVAT.
I shall not attempt to assign the origin, or to
determine the antiquity of the name of Fraser.
Some would fetch the Frasers from Frieseland,
and it favours this conjecture that, in ancient
writings, they are called Frisele, in Irish Frise-
lech, and not Fraser. Others bring them from
France as early as the reign of Charlemagne r
and derive the name from the French, Frasier, a
strawberry plant. But passing these conjectures,
I may say with Buchanan, that in Scotland they
were right early, " Gens numerossima, et de re
Scotica bene merita."
The late Lord Lovat caused publish in Nisbet's
Heraldry, Vol. II., an account of his family.
THE FAMILY OF FRASER OF LOVAT. 341
" disclaiming his ancestor's marriage with a
daughter of Bisset of Lovat, and affirming that
Sir Simon Fraser (who was executed in London
after the battle of Methven, anno 1307) had a
son, Simon, that was killed at Haledon-hill, anno
1333, leaving a son Hugh, who got the Barony
of Lovat from King David II., and the 3 Crowns,
as Arms of Concession." But this wholly un-
vouched account will not bear a trial. It is
uncertain if the great Sir Simon had a son ; and
if he had, he certainly left no issue, for the
families of Tweedale and Wigtoun quarter the
Frasers' arms, because their ladies (daughters of
Sir Simon) were co-heiresses, which they could
not be if their brother had issue and succession.
Besides, it cannot be instructed that the Barony
of Lovat was in the King's gift ; nay, the con-
trary is apparent from Char. Morav. and the MS.
Hist, of the Family of KilravocJc. Nor were the
3 Crowns Arms of Concession. Lovat's striking
them out shows that he considered them as the
Arms of Bisset, with whom he disclaimed a con-
nection, for had they been a royal Concession,
they ought to possess the first place in the Field,
as the most honourable. Lovat's apparent de-
sign was to establish a right of Chieftainry in his
family, which no history or genealogy I have
seen will admit.
I incline to think that Sir Simon of Tweedale
or Oliver-castle, called Simon Pater by Mr.
342 LORD SALTON, CHIEF OF THE CLAN LOVAT.
Eymer, William Bishop of St Andrews, and
Gilbert Sheriff of Traquair (Reg. Kelso) were
brothers. Simon Pater, son of Bernard, is al-
lowed to have been Chief of the name, and had
two sons, viz. Sir Simon and Sir Alexander (Life
of King Robert Bruce). Sir Simon was put to
death, and his daughters were married as above
mentioned. Sir Alexander then became Chief,
was made Lord Chamberlain anno 1325, married
Mary Bruce, sister of King Kobert, and widow of
Sir Neil Campbell, and that King gave him the
Thanedom of Cowie and other lands (Rotul.
Rob.) Sir Alexander's son was Sir William of
Cowie and Dores, whose son, Sir Alexander,
married Janet, daughter of William, Earl of
Boss, by whom he got the lands, and took the
title of Philorth in Buchan. He died about 1412,
leaving two sons, Sir William and Alexander of
Dores ; Sir William of Philorth died anno 1441,
whose son Sir Alexander was, 14th April, 1461,
served heir to Sir Alexander of Cowie, the Laird
of Lovat being one of the inquest. His lineal
descendant, Alexander of Philorth, in 1598,
married Margaret, daughter of George Lord
Abernethie of Saltoun, and their grandson, Alex-
ander, upon the death of Alexander Lord Saltoun
in 1669 without issue, served heir to Lord George,
and in Parliament 1670 had the honour and rank
of Saltoun confirmed to him; and, in my opinion,
Lord Saltoun is undoubted Chief of the Clan.
INTERMARRIAGES OF THE FRASERS. 343
Gilbert Sheriff of Traquair probably was ances-
tor of the family of Lovat. His son, Sir Andrew,
was father of Simon Fraser, who married the
daughter (or grand daughter) of Sir John Bisset
of Lovat. The three daughters, co-heiresses of
this gentleman, were, according to their birth,
Mary Lady Lovat, Cecilia Lady Beaufort, and
Elizabeth Lady Kilravock. Mary the eldest was
married to Sir David Graham, second son of Sir
David of Kincardine ; and Sir David Graham was
alive anno 1294, and had a son, Patrick Graham.
If, therefore, Mary Bisset was married to Simon
Fraser, it must have been some time after the
1294, and she must have been of an advanced
age, for Mary Wood, daughter of the youngest
sister Elizabeth, was married to Hugh Eose of
Geddes before that year 1294. Either, then,
Simon's wife was Mary Bisset, widow of Sir
David Graham, and well stricken in years, or the
daughter of Sir David became heiress of Lovat
upon the death of her brother Patrick, without
issue. Leaving this uncertain, the first of this
name I find designed " Of Lovat," is Hugh
Frisele, who does homage to the Bishop of
Moray, anno 1367, for some lands in the Aird.
I shall now deduce the succession, according to
the MS. account of the family.
In the law-suit in 1730, by the late Lovat, for
obtaining the Peerage, it was acknowledged that
it does not certainly appear, by any writing or
344 GENEALOGY OF THE ERASERS OF LOVAT.
record, in what year the dignity of a Lord was
conferred on that family ; and that Lord Lovat
is marked in the Bolls of Parliament in 1540,
and not more early. But in the additional case
of Elizabeth Countess of Sutherland in 1771, I
find that the Eetour 1430 calls him Hugh Fraser
de Lovat ; and in a Hoyal Charter in 1480, he is
designed "Hugo Fraser Dominus de Lovat," and
thus the family was ennobled betwixt the years
1430 and 1480, and the third or fourth descent
seems to have been the first Lord.
(1) Simon Frisele was father of (2) Hugh, who
married Margaret, daughter and heiress of Wil-
liam Fenton of Beaufort, son of Thomas of
Dounie, and by her got the lands. He died
about 1420, leaving three sons — viz., Hugh,
Alexander, of whom is Feralin, and James an-
cestor of Craigray and Glenernie. (3) Hugh II.
married Janet, daughter of Thomas Dunbar Earl
of Moray, and with her got the lands of Aber-
tarf. His son (4) Hugh III. married a daughter
of Lord Glammis, and was killed at Floudon
anno 1513, leaving a son Thomas, and a bastard
son, who, having been some time in France, was
called Hutcheon Franchoch, of whom is Fraser
of Fohir. (5) Thomas seems to have been the
second who was advanced to the Peerage ; he
married Janet Gordon, daughter of Sir Alexander
of Midmar, brother to Huntley, and in his favour
Huntley renounced all right he had to Strath-
PURCHASE THE LANDS OF STRICKEN IN BUCHAN. 345
erick ; he died anno 1526, leaving a son Hugh,
and a bastard son Hutcheon Bane, ancestor to
Eelick. (6) Hugh IV. married a daughter of
John Grant of Freuchie, and by her had Hugh ;
and by his second Lady, a daughter of Belna-
gawn, he had Alexander and William of Strawie.
Lord Hugh and his eldest son were killed in the
battle of Cean-Lochlochie, anno 1544. (7) Alex-
ander married Jean, daughter of Sir John Camp-
bell of Calder, and had Hugh, Thomas of
Strichen, and James of Ardachie. Lord Alex-
ander purchased Strowie, Coulgaran, Kilwadie,
Crochils, and Comer, from William Forbes of
Kinaldie ; and his son Thomas married Isabel
Forbes, widow of Chalmers of Strichen, and pur-
chased the lands of Strichen in Buchan about
1580. Lord Alexander died 1588. (8) Hugh V.
married Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of John
Earl of Athole, and purchased from Sir Walter
Keid, Prior of Beaulie, the lands and tythes
thereof, about 1569, and died 1576. His son (9)
Simon II. by his first wife, daughter of Kintail,
had Hugh ; and by his second wife, daughter of
the Earl of Moray, had Simon of Inveralachie,
and Sir James of Brae. He sold Glenelg to
MacLeod, and mortgaged Kilmiles, Fanellan,
and Kingylie, to Strichen, and Phopachie to
Coulkokie. In 1617 he purchased Ferintosh and
Inveralachie, and disponed these and Bunchrieve
to his second son. He died 1633. (10) Hugh
346 GENEALOGY OF THE FRASERS OF LOVAT.
VI. by his Lady, a daughter of Weemys, had
Hugh, and Thomas of Beaufort. He sold Aber-
tarf to Glengary for 5000 merks, and Muirtoun
to Thomas Shevez for 2000 merks ; he died in
1646. (11) Hugh VII., by a daughter of the
Earl of Leven, had (12) Hugh VIII., who sold
Kilmiles to Eraser of Kinaries, Kingyle to Coul-
bokie, Belladrum to Hugh Eraser, and Buntaite
to Chisholm of Comer ; and Sir James of Brae
gave Dalcross as a portion with his daughter to
Major Bateman. Lord Hugh died about anno
1672, leaving, by the daughter of MacKenzie of
Tarbet, a son (13) Hugh IX. who married Emilia,
daughter of John Marquis of Athole, who brought
him three daughters — viz. Emilia, married to
MacKenzie of Prestonhall; Anne to the Laird
of MacLeod, and again to Pourie ; and Catharine
to William Moray, son of Achtertyre. By his
marriage articles, this Lord provided his estate
to heirs whatsoever. He died in 1696. (14)
Simon III., son of Thomas of Beaufort, by
Sybilla, daughter of MacLeod, being out-lawed,
lived in exile till the year 1714. He then ob-
tained a remission, next year got the life-rent
Escheat of Prestonhall, and an annual pension of
£300. In 1730 the honours were adjudged to
him by the Court of Session ; he was made Cap-
tain of an independent Highland regiment ; paid
a sum of money to PrestonhalTs son for his right
to the estate ; but his behaviour, in 1745 and
THE FAMILY OF FRUID IN TWEEDALE. 347
1746, brought him to the block, 9th April, 1747,
and his estate was forfeited, and honours extin-
guished. By his first wife, daughter of Ludowick
Grant of Grant, he left issue, Simon now a
Colonel, Alexander, Janet, married to MacPher-
son of Clunie, and Sybilla ; by his second wife,
daughter of Campbell of Mamore, he left a son
Archibald. Simon, the eldest son, having been,
against his inclination, driven by his father into
the late Eebellion, soon obtained a remission ;
and having served in the military in America and
Portugal, he was advanced to the degree of a
Major-General ; and by an Act of Parliament in
1774, the King granted to him the lands and estate
of his father, upon certain terms and conditions.
The above mentioned MS. gives an account of
a branch of the Frasers, called the Family of
Fruid in Tweedale, of which John Fraser, Bishop
of Koss in 1485, was a son. In 1492 Anne
Wallace, widow of Fruid, with her 7 sons, came
into the north. Paul and Almond, the 2 eldest,
were clergymen; of John, the third son, is
descended Fraser of Dunbalach ; Alexander, the
4th son, was ancestor of Phopachie ; James, the
5th son, was ancestor of Mr. Eobert Fraser, advo-
cate, and Mr Michael Fraser, minister of Daviot;
of Duncan, the 6th son, is descended Fraser of
Daltulich, in the parish of Croy ; and of Kobert,
the 7th son, came the Frasers called Mac-Eobie
Friselich.
348 BOLESKIN, THE ANCIENT SEAT OF THE GRANTS.
The Proper Arms of Fraser are : Az. three Fraises Arg.
Motto, JE Suis PREST [I am ready]. The Family quartered
the Bissets Arms — viz., Gul. three Antique Crowns, Or. But
the late Lovat struck out these, and having come peaceably to
the possession of the estate, added another Motto — viz., SINE
SANGUINE VICTOR [A bloodless victory].
I now return to the parish of Boleskin.
Stratherick was the ancient seat of the Grants
before they came into Strathspey ; they left some
vestiges behind them to confirm this, for we find
the same names of country seats in Stratherick,
as Gartmore, Gartbeg, Dellachaple, &c., which
they gave to the places where they settled in
Strathspey. The above mentioned MS. of the
Family of Lovat affirms that, in the 15th cen-
tury, there were many Grants and Kerans, or
Clanchiaran, living in Stratherick ; and that
Thomas, Lord Lovat, having married the
daughter of Alexander Gordon of Midmar,
brother to the Earl of Huntley, that Earl, in
1493, renounced in Lovat's favour all his right
to the lands of Stratherick. What right Hunt-
ley had, or claimed, I know not ; but it is cer-
tain that the Erasers have possessed that country
for many generations.
The Water of Faragack, which giveth name to
the country, runneth through the north of the
parish, from east to west, and falleth into the
Loch two miles north of the Church; and the
Water of Feachlin runneth through the middle
of the parish, emptying into the Loch at Fohir,
ABERTARF; GLENDOE; RIVER EOICH; INCHNAKIRDICH.
a little south of the Church. Upon these waters,
and the branches of them, stand the seats of
many gentlemen of the name of Fraser, such as
Fohir, Gortuleg, and Balnaine, feuars; Taralin,
Gartmore, Gartheg, Drumyample, Kinbrylie,
Kilchoinlim, Drummin, &c.
Abertarf came to the Family of Lovat by
marriage, and was sold to MacDonald of Glen-
garry, as above related. A small glen, or valley,
called Glendoe, runneth up into the hills near
the south end of the Loch, and upon the banks
of the water Doe, are Molagan, Glendoe, &c.,
but the main part of this parish lieth upon the
rivers of Tarf and Eoich. Tarf, a rapid stream,
riseth in the hill of Corryarack, near Gamrvaore,
in Badenoch, and running north-west, falleth
into the south end of Loch Ness. On the banks
of it, in the face of the hill, are some corn lands,
and at the mouth of it is Kilhuiman, Borlum,
&c. The river Eoich is the great source of the
Ness, rising out of Loch Eoich, and running 4
miles north-east, falleth with a deep stream into
Loch Ness. In the point between Eoich and
Tarf, standeth Fort Augustus. On the west
side, at the mouth of the Eoich, is Inshnakir-
dich, the seat of Fraser of Coulduthill, and south
from it are the lands of Pitmean.
THE TOMB OF THE LOVATS.
A correspondent writes to us (5 Jan., 1881) : — " I lately
visited the Kilmuir Churchyard, which is situated about
350 THE TOMB OF THE LOVATS.
half a mile from the hotel at Dunvegan, alongside the
public road leading to Portree. In the middle there is a
ruin of an old Catholic Church, used now as the family
burying-place of Macleod of Macleod. We spent a great
deal of the day reading inscriptions on the tomb-stones.
Our special attention was attracted to one of these, which
we have no doubt will interest a good many of your
readers. The edifice on which this inscription was is in
the form of a pyramid, which was built over the tomb of
one of the Lovats, and is situated immediately in front of
the chapel ruins. There was a small tablet on it facing
to the west, but through the effects of inclement weather
of ages this tablet fell a number of years ago, and broke
in pieces, by which a part of the inscription is obliterated,
but, by putting the broken pieces together, it reads thus :
— ' This Pyramid was erected by Simon, Lord Fraser of
Lovat, in Honour of Lord Thomas, his father, a Peer of
Scotland, and Chief of the great and ancient Clan of the
Frasers. Being attacked for his birthright by the family
of Athole, then in power and favour with King William,
yet, by the valour and fidelity of his clan, the alliance of
the Campbell's, the old friends and allies of the family, he
defended his birthright with such greatness and bravery
of soul, and such valour and activity, that he was an
honour to his name and good pattern to all brave Chiefs
of Clans. He died in the month of May, 1699, in the 63
year of his age, in Dunvegan Castle, house of the Laird
of Macleod, whose sister he married, and by whom he had
the above Simon, Lord of Lovat, and — (few words here
obliterated) — children, and for the great love he bore to
the family of Macleod, he desired to be buried near his
wife's relatives, the place where two of her uncles lay,
and his son, Lord Simon, to show the posterity his great
affection for his mother's kindred, the brave Macleods,
chooses rather to leave his father's bones with them than
carry them to his own burial-place near Lovat.' " — (ED.)
BOLESKIN.
{Situation, Soil, Climate. — The island of Great Britain
is intersected by plains, or valleys, depressed almost to
the level of the surrounding main, in four different tracks,
from the one shore to the other. The first may be con-
ceived along the southern side of the Cheviot hills, where
DESCRIPTION OF THE PARISH OF BOLESKIN. 351
Scotland borders with England, from the Solway Frith
to the influx of the Tyne. The second lies along the
great canal, from the Frith of Clyde to the estuary of the
Forth. The third, beginning also from the shore of the
Clyde, lower down at Dumbarton, stretches through the
broadest and most central parts of the kingdom, along
the southern base of the Grampian mountains to Stone-
haven on the eastern shore. The last is stretched from
the Atlantic at Fort William, through the parishes of
Kilmanivack, Boleskin, and Durris, to the Murray Frith
at Inverness.
Imagination may easily conceive the Continent to have
once extended entire to the northern extremity of the
Orkney Isles ; and the Pentland Frith to have been only
a deep valley, similar to these so little raised above the
level of the sea, or composed of such yielding materials
as to have given way in some storm to the violence of the
weighty surge, impelled by all the power of the western
wind, rushing on unchecked from the American shore.
The headlands, stretching out to each other from the
opposite sides of the Frith, seem to suggest the idea of
some violent disruption. Thus Duncan's Bay Head pro-
jects a ridgy bottom, so high as to form a ripple both by
the flowing and ebbing tide, called the Boars of Duncan's
Bay, similar to the swell of the same name at the mouth
of the river Indus. The Pentland Skerries still remain in
the same direction, and are met by the Lowther Rock,
covered only during the tide, projected from the island of
South Rhonaldshay on the other side. In the same manner
St. John's Head sends out a ridge, which forms the
breakers called the merry men of May, meeting a swell
off Cantie Head, upon the opposite shore of the island of
Walls ; while the lofty Cape of Dunnet frowns against its
rival the Beary (the Berubium of Ptolemy), on the
western end of the same island. The probability of such
a junction is not less than that of Dover with the
opposite coast of France. If the extreme rapidity of the
tide, driving through the Pentland Frith, had ever been
altogether stopped, as it is sometimes partially checked
by the wind, there is no doubt but the sea must have
risen higher and flowed farther in upon the shores of the
Moray Frith than now.
The parish of Boleskin, with the Lake of Ness upon its
352 ABERTARFF ; STRATHEER1CK ; GENERAL WADE'S HUT.
western side, occupies a section of the last of these
valleys that have been described. Abertarff, a district of
this parish, lies nearly on a level with the lake upon its
southern end, as has been already noted. The other dis-
trict, named Strath erick, may be conceived a valley
parallel to the lake, about 300 feet above its level, and
screened from its view by an intervening rocky ridge
rising still higher, and stretched the whole length of the
lake. The side of this ridge, which faces the lake, rises
to a great height, and with a steepness almost perpendi-
cular, from the very edge of the water, and save 2 or 3
small plots, admits not of cultivation throughout its
whole length of 22 miles, from the Church of Durris to
the citadel of Fort Augustus. The road from Inverness
to this fortress is cut out for more than 12 miles upon the
side of this rocky steep, as far as the Fall of Foyers. It
has been formed by great labour, and at much expense,
under the conduct of General Wade, who was then quar-
tered in a slope of the mountain, thence distinguished by
the appellation of the General's hut, the present station of
the inn, about a mile distant from the fall. This road is
not unpleasant riding, being hard, smooth, and level ; it
is frequently immersed in wood, of birch and hazel, but
in general it is open enough to admit a view of the
waters of the lake far below, waving their surface in
gentle undulation towards the precipitous shore, and the
summits of the lofty mountains towering high upon
either of its sides. Above the zone of the woods the
mountains are reared up in sterile nakedness, the brown
heath and grey rock but little diversified by a few small
streams trickling down the steep. Sometimes the road
is cut along, and sometimes around the rocky sides of the
hill, forming on the one hand a black insurmountable
wall, on the other an alarming precipice overhanging
the deep lake, that even the stumbling only of the horse
impresses the idea of inevitable destruction. This route
is generally described as pleasant and romantic, yet the
unvaried landscape, consisting of little besides the long
narrow reach of the lake below and the sky above, while
the steepness of the mountain admits of no deviation
from the path, impresses a languor, after proceeding a
little way, with the idea of dereliction and restraint ; for
no habitation, no trace of the works of man are seen, save
DEPTHS OF LOCH NESS, WHICH NEVER FREEZES. 353
the desolation of the Castle of Urquhart rising out of the
water on the other side, which is but little relieved by a
deserted Church in ruins, and a lonesome Burying-ground,
by which the road winds, near the summit of the ridge.
In ancient times it might have been the sequestered resi-
dence of some holy hermit, and in that regard might
have been chosen for the situation of the parish Church,
of late more conveniently placed in the interior of the
countiy, and more centrical upon the other side of this
interposing ridge.
The common soundings of the lake of Ness are from
116 to 120 fathoms, in one place they ran to 135. By
Hoods or sudden thaws, it is raised about 10 feet above
the lowest watermark. The depth even at the very sides
would admit a ship of any burden to sail from the one
end to the other. Though widening considerably toward
its southern end, where it is about 2 miles in breadth, its
sides are straight over its whole length as the even banks
of an artificial canal, save the Bay where the river of Urqu-
hart falls in. To accomplish its navigation by sails
requires 3 days of moderately favourable wind, as the
vessel must anchor during the dark, which, excepting at
the ends, in Urquhart Bay, and the Creek called the
Horse Shoe, can be only done at Aultsay and Portclair
on the western, and at the influx of the Faragack and
Feachlin on the eastern side. Excepting an accidental
blast from either of these glens, or an eddy squall from
any of the more elevated summits of the enclosing ridges,
the winds must always blow right along the lake ; yet
were the navigation between the seas completed, a path
could be formed along the margin of the lake, and the
trade in all weathers rendered certain and secure by the
draught of horses.
This immense reservoir of water is distinguished by
two peculiarities, drawn either from the lake or river ; it
is laxative to people who are not accustomed to drink it,
and it has the same effect on horses unhabituated to its
use. Such, therefore, at the town of Inverness are
invariably conducted to another stream. Besides this,
neither the lake nor river was ever known to be frozen
by the most intense cold experienced in a latitude so
high as nearly the 58th degree. No chemical analysis
lias been attempted for investigating the causes of these
VOL. ir. 23
354 LOCH NESS DURING THE EARTHQUAKE AT LISBON.
qualities. When drawn either from the lake or river, it
freezes as quickly as any other water, even in the carriage
to any part of the town distant from the river, it is some-
times frozen by the way ; yet during the most intense
frosts both the lake and river smoke, a thick fog hangs
over them, mitigating the cold to some distance upon
either side, and linens, stiffened by the frost, are dipped
in the river to be thawed. There is not the least degree
of current in any part of the lake, and the river runs
gently onwards to the Frith, never overflowing its banks,
in a channel whose fall is scarcely 10 feet. There cannot
be much difference, therefore, in the level between the
fresh water and the salt; and without regarding the
soundings by Mr. Scott and Capt. Orton, who did not
reach the bottom with 500 fathoms, the depth of the Lake
is probably greater than that of the Frith. Both these
properties may be therefore probably derived from the
same causes in general, which produce hot springs, or
from some unexplored connection with volcanic fire. This
idea is countenanced by the extraordinary manner in
which the Lake was affected on the 1st of November,
1755, during the time of the awful earthquake at Lisbon.
Raised above the surface, near the indraught of the river,
the water flowed up the Lake with vast impetuosity, and
drove up more than 200 yards against the rapid current
of the river Eoich, breaking on its banks in a wave about
3 feet high. It thus continued, in alarming agitation, to
flow and ebb for more than an hour. About 11 o'clock a
wave, higher than any of the rest, loaded with brushwood,
drove up the river, and overflowed to the extent of 30
feet upon the bank. A boat near the General's Hut was
three times dashed on shore, and twice carried back ; the
rudder at the second time was broken, the boat filled
with water, the loading of timber dashed out and left
upon the. shore. Although this commotion at the bottom
of the Lake .affected the fluid so powerfully through all its
depth, it was yet unable to shake the solid earth, through
a mass but of equal height only with the water, for no
degree of agitation was in any place perceptible on land.
The vale of Stratheric is separated from Laggan and
Kingussie, on the banks of the Spey, by a wide and
desert mountain. It is watered by two considerable
streams — the Faragack from its northern, and the Feach-
STRATHERRICK ; FARAGACK ; FALL OF FOYERS. 355
lin from its southern end. It might be conceived that
this vale had been itself a lake, till its waters forced their
passage down through the rocky mound to Loughness.
The Faragack has torn the mountain sloping uniformly
from its summit to the base ; the impending rugged rocky
banks of the channel bear testimony of the violence of
the disruption.
The Feachlin has been opposed by more solid materials,
although its influx is only about 2 miles distant from the
other. Winding for 10 or 12 miles from the extremity
of the glen, and in its progress collecting many streams
from the mountain on the south or east, and grown into a
river of no small consideration, its current turned towards
the lake, forced its passage also through the intervening
ridge. Just entering within its rocky jaws, it pours
perpendicularly from the cliff about the height of 30 feet,
in a form resembling the unequal columns of a great
cathedral organ, into an abyss every way environed by
uncouth and rugged masses of sable rock, to the height of
more than 60 feet above its tumultuous surface, save the
breach through which its course is continued, which is
covered by a narrow stone bridge fully in the front of
this thundering torrent, boiling in the cavern which
itself has hollowed, in turbulent, foaming, and ceaseless
ebullition, as if some vast subterranean fire glowed in-
tensely underneath this horrible cauldron. Its effect is
greatly heightened by the dark red tinge which the river
for the most part bears, from the peat soil of the moun-
tain through which its several currents flow. Considera-
bly farther within this sinuous chasm is the grand
cataract, the celebrated Fall of Foyers. A profile view of
it may be easily obtained from the highway, where a
wall of substantial masonry prevents the danger of falling
over the verge of the gulph ; but to gain a nearer view,
and in the front, requires a guide aslant the side of the
profound steep, down to a grassy hillock, projected half
across the chasm, which is readily by some neighbouring
cottagers supplied. The greatness of the effect is even
somewhat augmented by this perilous approach, which
cannot be accomplished but by clinging from space to
space to some straggling tree, or hanging by some bushr
whilst the foot, unseen, is groping for a hold under-
neath. The river at times is descried at a vast distance
356 THE FALL OF FOYERS, BOLESKIN.
below, increasing its tumult as it advances, struggling
among the multiform masses of rock which embroil its
course, and roaring against the opposing cliffs which
shoot rudely from the sides of its torn channel ; mean-
while the hoarse roar of the unseen cataract swells louder
on the ear, the hoary vapour is beheld in turbulent
eddies, and in rapid ascent over the gulph, as the dense
smoke of some bursting volcano.
Gaining at last the lowest ledge of the rock, a pinnacle
detached from, but every way environed by the craggy
steep, which from thence seems unsurmountable, though
scarcely lower than the middle of the fall, the attention
is overpowered, and the astonished view arrested by this
august object !
The river is beheld edgeways shot from a cleft, a resist-
less rapid column, about a yard in thickness, and 20 feet
in height. Its breadth upon the upper side remaining
still unseen, it dashes with so much momentum upon a
slanting shelve of the rock as to be entirely divested ol
the appearance of the element of water in any of its
forms, but forced into the semblance of furiously drifted
snow. It hisses down the slanting steep, broad spreading
as it drives into the unexplored profound at the depth of
80 or 100 feet below the shelve by which the column is
first broken, where, clashing not in union with deep roar
above, it imperceptibly resumes its elemental form, and
seems feebly to simmer off from the bottom of the rock
through a pool that might be imagined to be of no un-
common depth ; even the red tinge of mountain soil,
which was wholly dispelled as it drifted down the steep,
is also unexpectedly restored.
The remaining part of its course is continued placidly
for a short space between the wooded cliffs; it then meets
the lake in a plain of no great extent, formed probably by
the alluvion of its own current, as it is the only field
upon the eastern border of this long expanse, decorated
by the family seat and gardens of Mr. Fraser of Foyers,
an agreeable but seemingly a solitary residence.
In the contemplation of a scene so sublimely august,
which, day after day and year after year, continues its
perennial turbulence and thunder, without rest or cessa-
tion, the feebleness of man, and the short-abiding power
of mortal energy, are deeply impressed upon the mind ;
PKOPERTIES IN BOLESKIN PARISH. 357
sentiments of reverence spontaneously arise for that Al-
mighty Being who at the first arranged the springs of
nature, and regulates for ever its unconscious, though
varied, and most powerful exertion.
The soil is, in general, a light and gravelly loam, in
some places moorish. The climate may be accounted, on
the whole, rather severe than mildly temperate through-
out the greatest proportion of the year ; yet in summer
it is sometimes unpropitiously dry, and it would be
reckoned early, were not the harvests generally retarded
by rains which frequently begin to fall out about the
equinox.
State of Property. — The parish is partitioned among 7
landholders. It comprehends a part of the Lovat for-
tune of the Honourable Archibald Fraser, equal to £2101
18s. 4d. Scots. Simon Fraser of Foyers, Esq., holds £463
13s. 4d. Simon Fraser of Faralin, Esq., holds £82, 4s.
lOd. James Fraser of Gortuleg, Esq., holds £38 13s. 1 Id.
Captain Fraser of Knocky amounts to £163 Scots. Cap-
tain Fraser of Ardachy, £141 17s. Scots. And Alexander
Macdonald of Glengarry, Esq., £308 5s. 8d. Scots, in
which the valuation of the property of the Crown is
included, being a farm, and part of the appointment of
the Deputy-Governor of Fort Augustus, and the ground
occupied by the citadel itself, extending the whole valua-
tion to the sum of £3299, 13s. Id. Scots. There are some
of the lands in the personal occupation of the proprietors.
The farms let to tenants are in general comprehended
under a small extent of arable field, to which, however,
there are some exceptions where the rent rises to above
£50 in the year. The average rent of the acre of the
arable land may be estimated at 16s., but the pasturage
connected prevents it from being accurately ascertained.
State Ecclesiastical. — The Church is now placed about
3 miles up the river above the Fall, and about a mile east-
ward from the bank. The living, including the allowance
for the Communion, is £105. The right of patronage is
a pertinent of the Lovat estate. The appointment of the
missionary resident at Fort Augustus, and the extent of
his charge, has been mentioned in the preceding number.
In the central parts of the parish, between the Fall and
Fort Augustus, the farmers hire a teacher for their chil-
dren by a small subscription among themselves. The
358 MEANING AND HISTORY OF FORT AUGUSTUS.
conductor of the music employed in the public devotions
of the Church, and the poor, which make up a pretty
long roll, have a provision arising from the donations
made in the religious congregations of the people, who,
except a few of the Roman Catholic communion, are all
members of the Established Church, amounting to the
number of 1402.
Miscellaneous Information. — The original name of the
ground where Fort Augustus stands was KILLIE-CHUMIN,
the burial-place of the Cumings. The cause of this
appellation is now wholly unknown. It may be con-
jectured that, similar to I'Columbkill, the cemetery of the
monarchs of several kingdoms, the consecrated ground of
the Chapel of Abertarff might have been appropriated
by this ancient clan, during the period in which they
numbered 14 titled chiefs, as the place of general inter-
ment.
The Citadel, rather in a beautiful than in a strong
situation, is seated on a narrow plain, commanded by
pretty high grounds upon the south and north. It has
the great river Eoich, pouring a deep and rapid flood into
the lake, upon the one side, and the gentle Tarff, gliding
in a slender stream through the plain upon the other.
Loughness washes the ramparts on the third side ; they
are composed of 4 bastions, and they afford accommoda-
tion for a garrison of 400 or 500 men. It was originally
built about the year 1730, and received its present name
in compliment to the father of George III. Its des-
truction by the rebels in 1746 has been incidentally
mentioned above. It has contributed somewhat to the
improved police of the country. The little sloop which
rides under its walls adds greatly to the scenery of such
a mountainous landscape, and it establishes the advan-
tages of the navigation of the Lake.] (Survey of the
Province of Moray.)
KILMANIVACK PARISH.
A small part only of this parish lieth within the
Province of Moray, viz., Glengary and Achadrom.
From Loch Ness, to Loch Eoich, are 4 miles, a
part of Abertarf. Loch Eoich is 4 miles long,
GLENGARY, PARISH OF KILMANIVAIG. 359
from north to south, and 1 mile broad. From
the south end of Loch Eoich, to the north end
of Loch Lochie (the utmost boundary of Moray)
is 1 mile, called Achadrom; a fertile little valley,
not above a half mile broad, betwixt chains of
high hills. Here are Lagan-Achadrom, Dunan,
Kyleross, &c. The country of Glengary lieth on
the west bank of Loch Eoich, and stretcheth
into the hills westward, on both sides of Loch
Garie, 7 miles. It is a rough, unequal valley,
full of birch wood, but warm and fertile. At the
mouth of the Eiver Garie, where it falleth into
Loch Eoich, is Invergary, the seat of Alexander
MacDonald of Glengary. And, in this glen, are
the seats of several gentlemen, such as Lie,
Lundie, Ardnabee, &c. The inhabitants of Acha-
drom are Kennedies, called Clan Ulric, from one
Ulric Kennedy, of whom they are said to have
descended.
Glengary is planted by MacDonalds, a branch,
it is said, of the Clan Eonald, or MacDonalds of
Moidart. Lord MacDonald of Aros (descended
of MacDonald Earl of Boss), having died in 1680
without issue, the honours became extinct, and
his estate (by a marriage connection) came to
Glengary; by which means the fortune of the
family lies in Glengary, Abertarf, and Knoidart,
and is very considerable.
360 PARISH OF KILMANIVAIG.
MACDONALD OF GLENGABY.
The MacDonalds derive themselves from Colla
Uais, King of Ireland, in Century IV., and are
said to have come to Scotland in the reign of
Malcolm Canmore. They have spread into many
branches of which the family of Glengary (de-
scended of the Clan Konalds of Moidart) are as
follows : —
John, Lord of the Isles, had a son Kanald,
who, by a daughter of MacDougal of Lorn, had
two sons, viz., Allan of Moidart, and Donald of
Glengary. (1) Donald was father of (2) Alex-
ander, father of (3) Alexander, who married
Margaret, heiress of MacDonald of Loch Alsh,
and had Alexander and Angus, ancestor of Lord
MacDonald of Aros, and died about the year
1515. (4) Alexander married a daughter of Mac-
Kenzie of Kintail, and dying about 1550, was
succeeded by his son (5) Alexander, who married
a daughter of Lachlan More of Macintosh ; and
dying anno 1604, his son (6) ^neas, married a
daughter of Macintosh, and had Alexander and
Angus of Scothouse ; and having been killed by
the MacKenzies, before his father's death (7)
Alexander succeeded his grandfather, and by a
daughter of Lord Lovat, had Donald Gorm, and
Alexander; and upon the demise of Lord Mac-
donald, anno 1680 without issue, Alexander ob-
tained his estate, and died about 1685. (8)
MACDONALDS OF GLENGARY. 361
Donald Gorm, was killed at Killiecrankie 1689,
unmarried. His brother (9) Alexander, married
a daughter of Seaforth, by whom he had John,
Ranald, and Donald. His loyalty led him into
the Battles of Killiecrankie 1689, Cromdale 1690,
and Sheriflmuir 1715, and dying in 1724; (10)
John, by MacKenzie, had Alexander, and
Angus of Tyindrish ; and by a daughter of Glen-
buckit, had James and Charles. And dying in
1754 (11) Alexander being a prisoner in London
in 1745, his brother Angus led the Glengary men
to that rebellion, and was himself killed at Fal-
kirk, in January, 1746, by an accidental shot.
Alexander returned home, and died unmarried,
anno 1761, and was succeeded by the son of
Angus, by a niece of Struan, viz., Duncan, now
of Glengary, who married Marjory, daughter of
Sir Lewis Grant of Dalvey, and has issue.
From the frequency of the name Alexander,
the Chief of this Family, is called Mac-Mhic-
Alister.
I now return, by the west side of Loch Ness, to
UBQUHAKT PAEISH.
The parish of Urquhart and Glenmoriston,
which lie on the west side of the loch, over
against Stratherick. Urquhart stretcheth up
into the hills westwards towards the Aird, about
5 miles, and is a warm and fertile valley.
The Church standeth near a mile west from
362 THE CASTLE OF URQUHAKT.
the loch, 12 miles south-west from Inverness.
The Castle or Fort stood on the edge of the Loch.
In the valley is Corimonie, a feu-holding per-
taining to a branch of the Grants; Shoglie, a
mortgage of a Cadet of Corimonie ; Achmonie,
the heritage of a gentleman of the name of
MacKay, or rather MacDonald. All the rest of
the parish is the property of Sir James Grant of
Grant. Urquhart was probably a part of the
estate of Cummine Lord Badenoch, upon whose
forfeiture it was granted to Eandolph Earl of
Moray. The MS. History of the Family of
Sutherland bears, that, in 1359, King David II.
gave the barony and Castle of Urquhart to Wil-
liam, Earl of Sutherland, and his heirs. If so,
the grant was afterwards revoked. It is true,
Urquhart was excepted out of the grant to John
Dunbar, Earl of Moray, anno 1372; and upon the
forfeiture of Earl Archibald Douglas, anno 1455,
Urquhart was annexed to the Crown. In a
decreet arbitral, betwixt Duncan Macintosh,
Captain of Clan Chattan, and Hutcheon Eose of
Kilravock, anno 1479, the possession and Duchus
of Urquhart is adjudged to Kilravock (Pen. Kilr.) ;
and in 1482, the Earl of Huntley gave Kilravock
a discharge of the rents of Urquhart and Glen-
moriston (Pen. Kilr.). What right Huntly had
to these lands, I know not, if it was not as factor
for the Crown. I incline to think, that after the
death of Earl John Kandulph, in 1346, the barony
URQUHART OF GLENMORRISTON. 363
of Urquhart was the salary of the governor of
that Fort, until it was no longer garrisoned (Vide
Milit. Hist.). Be this as it will, the Laird of
Grant purchased Urquhart and Glenmoriston, in
the reign of King James VI.
Glenmoriston is distant from Urquhart south-
ward 8 miles of hills. The Eiver Moriston
riseth in the hills of Glensheil, near Kintail,
passeth through Loch Clunie, watereth Glen-
moriston, and after a course of above 30 miles,
emptieth into Loch Ness, 4 miles below Fort
Augustus. The inhabited Glen extends 8 miles
in length, from the mouth of the river, but the
breadth is inconsiderable. The whole valley is
warm, fertile, and well inhabited. It is a part of
the barony of Urquhart, and has been the heritage
of Grant of Glenmoriston, for above 200 years ;
that family has a good house at Invermoriston,
on the bank of Loch Ness. Urquhart and Glen-
moriston are separated from Kirkill and Kiltar-
latie, by a ridge of hills.
URQUHART.
[Situation, Soil, Climate. — The course of this survey
has been hitherto conducted from the east, towards the
west ; but it is directed southward from the banks of the
Beaulie, along the western limits of the Province, to the
sources of the Spey.
The parish of Urquhart skirts along the southern limits
of those of Inverness, Kirkhill, and Kiltarlity, sweeping
also in part by the eastern boundary of those of Kilmorac,
Kintail, and Glensheal, to where the parish of Kilmani-
vack, stretched from the Atlantic Ocean, conjoins with
that of Boleskin, bending round from the east, across the
364 THE MOUNTAIN OF MHALFOURVONNIE.
western termination of Lough Ness. The communication
from the town of Inverness, on the eastern coast, to Fort
William on the western shore, opened along the length of
Lough Ness, has led its course, in a general view, to be con-
sidered in the same direction : but although the termina-
tion of the lake at Fort Augustus be greatly to the
westward of Inverness, it is also so much to the south,
that if the cardinal points of the compass are only in
regard, its course with more accuracy may be considered
as lying in the direction of north and south. Accordingly
in Urquhart, the whole eastern side of the parish is
described as being washed by the waters of the lake, by
which it is separated from Boleskin on the other side.
By the lofty mountain of Mhalfourvonnie, the parish
is divided into two districts, Urquhart upon its northern,
and Glenmoriston on its southern side ; and they may
be both conceived as valleys stretching nearly parallel,
towards the west, from the margin of the lake. That of
Urquhart, a little inward, divides itself into two, by
extending a branch southerly into the skirts of Mhalfour-
vonnie. Each branch is watered by its own blue stream,
which, meeting in their courses, have opened, as it were,
the country to the breadth of several miles of plain ; and
they deliver their water into a bay, expanded to a con-
siderable length from the lake, and more than a mile in
breadth, the only place where the lake of Ness is not
bounded by rock upon either of its sides.
The mountain of Mhalfourvonnie rises almost perpen-
dicular, in one uniform face from the lake, to the height
of 30GO feet. On the other three sides, a rounded rocky
peak hath shot up about a fifth part higher than the
general elevation of the mountain. From this it seems
to have derived its appellation, signifying in the Gaelic, a
cold wart, or excrescence of a hill. Upon the western
side, at the bottom of the peak, is a small lake, which
makes a conspicuous figure among the fictions of all the
systems of geography, and which otherwise in this place
would have met with no regard. Its surface is equal to
about 4 acres : it is supported by springs, and the rains
which drift pretty frequent around the sides of the peak.
In dry weather, the evaporation is equal to the water it
receives : in seasons of rain, it emits a small stream from
its southern end. It might be inferred, from its being
VIEWS FROM MHALFOURVONNIE. 365
well stocked with trout, which require an extent, propor-
tional to their number, of moderately shallow water, that
it is nowhere of unfathomable depth ; which has of late
been ascertained to be the fact, by the minister of the
parish and another gentleman. From its situation so far
within the stormy wilderness, it is more than probable,
that it has never been beheld during any intense frost.
The trout are in such numbers as to have distinguished
this little lake by their own Gaelic characteristic, namely,
the lake of the red-bellied trout.
The prospect from the summit of the peak is highly
interesting: the faculty of vision itself seems to have
received additional power : the view is chiefly extended
in the course of east and west, commanding an extent
from the environs of Fort George nearly to Fort William.
The whole expanse of the lake lies together under the
eye, but at such a distance below, as to suggest the idea
of a narrow ditch, deep sunk within steep banks. The
distant horizon from the west, round over the north, is
bounded by the mountains through Ross and Sutherland,
to the shores of Caithness ; and though nothing but the
dun waste, thinly diversified by the glittering of scattered
lakes, is to be seen, a trackless desert of boundless extent,
yet it is hardly possible to banish the idea of the many
fertile peopled vales, with the various toils and luxuries,
pains and pleasures, which form this station are so com-
pletely overlooked. The whole district of Stratheric is
displayed upon the opposite side as a painted landscape
under the eye; but though the peak itself may be descried
by the mariner, immediately on his clearing Kinnaird's
Head, where the Moray Firth is lost in the German
Ocean, yet the prospect is bounded by the mountain
between Stratheric and the course of the Spey. The Fall
of Foyers, directly over against the peak, upon the other
side of the lake, at the distance of nearly 6 miles, in a
right line from the eye, is among the most interesting
objects. Its white spray, contrasted with the bleak
mountain through which it dashes down, resembles the
lights of the sky seen through the arch of a distant gate-
way : its roar meanwhile grows or dies upon the ear, as
the airy breeze propels or bears away the sound. The
valley of Glenmoriston may be distinctly traced for 20
miles westerly from the lake; it is inhabited only for
366 THE FALL OF KILMORAC.
about the half of that length, and its breadth is nowhere
considerable: it opens at the distance of 10 miles from
the influx of the river of Urquhart. The road between
winds over the declivities in the precipitous face of
Mhalfourvonnie, much encumbered by loose angular frag-
ments of the rock. The path too narrow for a carriage,
along the verge of the wooded steep which overhangs the
lake, is carried over the stream of Altkenis upon an
ancient arch, named Trochet-na-cre-kit-renish, the bridge
of the wooded rocks. Glenmoriston itself, signifying the
great valley of the deep cascade, opens on the lake between
the fronts of two lofty cliffs, reared up in gloomy gran-
deur: the one is called Graig-kinian, the giant's rock ; the
other, a sable peak, projecting over the lake, is denomin-
ated Struan-muich, the promontory of the boar. The
wildness of these characteristic appellations distinguishes
these interior regions no less than the striking appear-
ance of their sublime scenery. The road is continued to
Fort Augustus, across the river of Moriston, by an elegant
light bridge of two arches, meeting on a great rock in the
middle of the stream, with a pretty cascade in each of its
channels. A trim path winds down the river, through
a grove upon the level bank, for about 300 paces, to
a neat octagon building, overhanging the margin just
before the great fall. Although the river has its origin
far distant in Glensheal, forming in its progress the long-
winding lake of Clunie, yet the volume of water is not so
large as that which forms the Fall of Kilmorack ; but the
height from which it is precipitated is nearly the same.
The torrent, however, spreads to a greater breadth, and
advances with rapidity and increasing tumult to the
farthest verge of the gulph ; and broken by a rock in its
fall, it tosses itself into spray and foam, and at times, from
some slight alteration perhaps in the pressure of the
atmosphere, as if animated by some internal impetus of the
stream, it bounds considerably higher than its ordinary
repercussion, which adds much to the vivacity of this
fascinating object. Here, too, as at Kilmorac, and with
no better success, the salmon attempt to vault over the
fall, and by a pole similarly armed with hooks, many
with dexterity are occasionally caught, in the momentary
flash of their ill-fated bound. Below the cataract, the
river sweeps round in the sullen eddies of a deep and
THE FALL OF DIVAH. 367
gloomy pool, seeming to pause in the shadow of the
dark surrounding cliffs and overhanging hills. Then on a
sudden it bursts away in a straight and narrow channel,
through which it shoots in deepened and condensed
rapidity, rushing with a whizzing din along the sides
of the rock, cut down by its own ceaseless violence,
driving on resistless, amid the echoes of the impending
cliffs and high towering hills.
In both districts the soil is light and warm : in Urqu-
hart, it is a fertile, though not a deep loam; in Glen-
moriston, it is inferior, in general sandy and light. The
arable grounds are pleasantly interspersed with pasturage,
and sheltered by natural groves, varied by murmuring
brooks. In one of them is the distinguished Fall of Di vah,
about 100 feet of perpendicular height : a winding path
through a wooded bank leads easily to its bottom; a
volume of water only is wanting for the completion of its
grandeur. The close shelter of the woods, and the warm
reflection of the sun from the rocks, have ranked this
country among the earlier Highland districts: yet in
autumn the return of rain is so unwelcomely frequent, as
seldom to admit of saving the corn in the open air.
Fabrics, therefore, peculiar for this purpose, are pretty
generally erected: the roof between ordinary gables is
supported upon timber posts, and it projects almost a
yard over the sides, which are wattled with wands neatly
trimmed; the inside is fitted up with rails, in which
pegs are fastened, upon each of which, like the muskets
in an armoury, a single sheaf is separately hung, where
in a short time they become so dry, in any weather, as
to keep otherwise safe, when their removal makes way
for the crop of another field. Such dryhouses are common
upon the western coast. On smaller farms, the walls of
the barns are built of angular stone, in such an open
manner as to admit, or rather draw in, the wind, while
the rain trickles down along the outside.
State of Property. — James Grant, Esq., Advocate, the
author of Essays on the Gaelic tongue, and on the
manners of the Celts — a subject which the distinguished
ingenuity and abilities of the author have not been able
to make generally interesting now — has his paternal seat
at Corrymonie, signifying in the Gaelic St. Mona's hollow
or valley, transmitted through a line of ancestors reaching
368 DISTRICT OF GLENMORRISTON ; HOUSE OF FOYERS.
back to the year 1509, in the reign of James IV. It is
situated in the mountains towards Killtarlity, and upon
the sources of the river of Urquhart. It is the farthest
cultivated land in that district, the desert stretching
beyond unbroken almost to the western shore. The
building, although not modern, is plain, without turrets,
or any ornament of architecture ; but it is embellished by
groves, a garden, and inclosed fields, and those bewitching
beauties of a mountainous and stormy region, so inexpli-
cably fascinating to the natives educated among them.
The valued rent of this ancient inheritance amounts to
£210 Scots.
The whole district of Glenmoriston is the property of
Major John Grant, and an inheritance coeval with that of
Corrymonie. The family seat stands upon the side of
Loughness, at such a distance from the cataract, as to be
soothed only by its gentle and uniform murmur. It is a
plain but commodious mansion, commanding an extensive
and varied view of the lake, woods, and rocky mountains ;
but except the House of Foyers, far distant on the other
side of the lake, it is not in sight of any other dwelling,
and of the little cultivated field only in its own environs.
In its close vicinity, there is a pretty handsome building,
erected about the year 1760 by the trustees of the for-
feited estates, to promote the industry of the Highland
lasses, to instruct them in spinning fine yarn, and in some
other domestic arts, rendering their time more valuable,
and making the youth of both sexes better acquainted
with the advantages of diligence and the blessings of
industry ; in the knowledge of which they might be still
improved. This building, converted now to less interest-
ing purposes, is not the seat of any manufacture, and
remains the monument only of laudable design. The
valued rent of Glenmoriston is £896 10s. Its principal
crops are, black oats, potatoe, bear : a little rye, and white
oats, and cultivated grass, may be also produced: it
supports about 500 milch cows, and about 1000 other
black cattle : with a proportion of these, it spares also
butter and cheese; but the country was not able to
supply provision for its own inhabitants, about 600 souls,
before the general cultivation of potatoe. Besides the
sheep it can now spare, it also disposes yearly of a con-
siderable number of horses.
SHEWGLIE, LOCKLETTER, AND LAKEFIELD. 309
The rest of the parish, valued at £1113 5s. Scots, is the
property of Sir James Grant of Grant, Bart.; extending
its whole valuation to £2219 15s. Scots. There is a great
proportion of the parish occupied in farms of respectable
extent, varying from about £50 to about £100 of rent.
Among these also, are several handsome buildings, occupied
by gentlemen who cultivate this sequestered vale, and
live happily in each other's sociality. Three of these,
Shewglie, Lockletter, and Lakefield, are pleasantly situ-
ated round the borders of a little lake in the course of the
river of Urquhart, about 1 mile in length, and more than
half a mile in breadth. The cut freestone of the House of
Lakefield, which is on the property of Corrymonie, was
carried from the shore of Duffus, at the expense of more
than £50. Sir James Grant has also built a neat commo-
dious mansion in the beautiful situation of Ballnaceaun,
and where he occasionally visits. The greater number of
the tenants hold small farms, reaching from less than
£1 to £7, or £15. The average value of the acre may
be estimated at 18s. A very considerable revenue is
derived from the wood, part of which is burned in
making red herring in Caithness, transported by the
lake and river of Ness to the boats which receive it in the
Firth. The number of black cattle in the Urquhart
district are reckoned to amount to 2400, of which the
third part are milch cows. The real rent of the whole
parish is not supposed to exceed £3000 sterling.
State Ecclesiastical. — The gradual organisation of the
Church of Scotland into the local unconnected judicatures
of Presbyteries and Synods has been already noticed. It
was not till the year 1724 that the Synod of Glenelg,
consisting of 5 Presbyteries, and 29 Parishes, was at the
first established. Prior to that period, the parishes of
Urquhart, Boleskin, and Laggan, appertained to the
Synod of Moray ; with Killmallie and Kilmanivak, they
now compose the Presbytery of Abertarff : the two last
were never in any shape connected with the Province
of Moray.
The Church is prettily placed in a wood upon the bank
of the river, and near the head of the bay. For the
accommodation of the upper part of the vale, there is also
a Chapel, about two-thirds of the way from the lake to
Corrymonie, where public worship is celebrated every
VOL. II. 2*
370 EVANGELIZATION OF SOLITARY GLENS.
third Sunday. The stipend, by a decree in 1796, is £105,
including the allowance for the expense of the commun-
ion. The glebe is about 6 acres. Sir James Grant
holds the right of patronage. The parochial school is in
the vicinity of the Church, with the salary of £14 ster-
ling, and the other whole emoluments equal to £10 more;
it retains, at an average, about 50 scholars : reading Eng-
lish only, with writing and arithmetic, are taught.
In Highland districts, widely separated from each other
in the trackless wilderness, the thousand pounds of Royal
bounty are distributed with the most parsimonious economy :
but had it been originally adjusted, so as to make one
permanent establishment yearly, the whole Highlands
ere now would have almost been sufficiently appointed
with regular clergymen, each with a living of £50 sterling
in the year, and this annual expenditure saved at the
last. In the solitary glens of Kiltarlity and Kilmorack,
the missionary, as has been noticed, toils laboriously in
rotation through four separated congregations. In Glen-
moriston, where the minister of the parish can. only make
occasional visitations, the public ordinances of the National
religion are celebrated every third Sunday by the mis-
sionary established for that district, in connection with
Abertarff in the parish of Boleskin, and Glengary in that
of Kilmanivack, with a salary of £35 yearly. The com-
mittee for managing this bounty have also appointed a
catechist for the whole parish, with an allowance of £12
yearly. The Society for Christian Knowledge have
established a school in Glenmoriston, and another in the
interior, upon the river of Urquhart; the first with an
appointment of £15 yearly, and the other with one of
£10, to which £4 is added to his spouse, as mistress for
the girls in sewing. The statutory accommodations of a
house, kitchen garden, and the means of supporting a cow,
are furnished in the districts. Both masters teach the
reading of the Scriptures in the Gaelic as well as in the
English tongue : and both also, as well as the catechist,
are most assiduous in waiting on the people most remote
from the situations of public worship ; instructing them
on the Sundays in the principles and duties of religion,
in assisting their devotions by prayer, and their Christian
edification by reading the Holy Scriptures. The Society,
with the country, are taking measures for establishing
URQUHART FORMERLY RANSACKED BY CATERANS. 371
another school in the track of country between the two
districts, about the skirts of Mhalfourvonnie.
In Urquhart, the number of the poor on the roll is
about 30 ; with a capital of £100 bearing interest, the
contributions in the assemblies of public worship make
the fund equal to £15 yearly for their support; from
which £2 4s. 6d. is allocated to the Clerk and Session
officer. The fund for the poor of Glenmoriston, kept
wholly apart from the other, is only about £3 of Church
contributions, and the interest of £25, although their roll
of poor exceeds that of the other district.
The number of the inhabitants in the whole parish, by
an accurate enumeration obtained since the Population
Table was printed, amounts to 2355, exceeding the number
stated in that Table by 306, and making the increase of
the whole population of the province, since the year
1755, equal to 537, instead of the 254 there stated. The
whole inhabitants of both districts are of the National
religion, except about 80 of the people of Glenmoriston,
many of whom, in the absence of their own Roman
Catholic clergyman, attend the meeting of their Pro-
testant brethren.
Miscellaneous Information. — Before the year 1746, the
parish was much distressed by the depredations of their
neighbours in the western Highlands, who plundered
their cattle and other property. The advantages of good
government having reached the most uncivilised quarters
of the island, property is now completely secure. For
more than 30 years, all differences among the people
have been most satisfactorily adjusted by a gentleman in
the country, in the character of Baron of Bailie ; the
people's money is thereby saved, and even the spirit
itself of litigation dies gradually away. The people are
religious, industrious, and loyal. In the year 1793, 80
men entered cheerfully into the first fencible regiment.
At present there is one company of volunteers in Urqu-
hart, of 60 men ; and one in Glenmoriston, of 40. The
length of the road that has been made, and is kept in
repair by the parish, is about 50 miles. The fund for
this object is a commutation for the statute labour of 2s.
from each male above 15 years of age, and about £9
assessed on the valued rent, at Id. sterling upon the
pound Scots, amounting together to about the sum of
372 AGRICULTURE IN URQUHART ; URQUHART CASTLE.
£60. The road from Inverness to the inn on the bank of
the river of Urquhart, about 15 miles, was a grand under-
taking : for a great way through the rocks of Abriechan,
it required in many places the blast of gunpowder;
besides the perseverance of the people, the county aid,
and liberal subscriptions from the proprietors and gentle-
men of the parish were bestowed. The modes of agricul-
ture among the gentlemen are the same as in the low
country. Sir James Grant has encouraged the improve-
ment of his estate by donations of grass seeds to the
smaller tenants : and he has built a lint mill, and gives
similar donations of lint seed ; and the appearance of the
people is much improved, by being dressed in linen of
their own raising "and manufacture.
There is plenty of limestone on Sir James Grant's
estate, and he encourages its application as a manure by
the free use of the quarry ; and by quarrying the stone at
his own expense, and calcining it also for the poorer
tenants, for cultivating ground in the waste, at the rate
of about 300 bushels to the acre, and from the expense of
fuel, the expense of each bushel is estimated at 4d., more
than 100 acres of waste have of late been gained ; and
the rents have been increased almost threefold in the
course of the last 30 years : yet the situation and comforts
of the people have been also in the same time greatly
ameliorated. The price of provisions is regulated by the
market of Inverness. Unmarried farm servants have
raised their wages to about £6 sterling in the year ; and
women servants to half that sum ; a day labourer, without
victuals, gets Is.
The Castle of Urquhart has been already described.
It may be inferred, from its being an object of so
much importance in the regard of Edward, the monarch
of England, that we are not well informed of the
state and circumstances of society in ancient times. Its
walls are still decorated with a considerable quantity
of cut freestone of a coarse texture and hardy quality :
but the conjecture is hopeless about where it was found,
and by what means it was transported ; when it is con-
sidered, that a gentleman now found it most convenient
to import the cut stone for his house from the quarries on
the coast of Duffus.] (Survey of the Province of Moray.}
BUNCHRIVE; PHOPACHIE; TOWER OF LOVAT. 373
I now return to the Moray Firth, near Inver-
ness, to take a view of
KIBKHILL PARISH.
The parish of Kirkhill, formerly called Ward-
laiu, because the garrison of Lovat kept ward or
watch, on this law or hill. In Irish it is called
Knock-Mhuire, i.e. Mary's Hill, dedicated to the
B. Virgin. This parish stretcheth about 3J miles
on the side of the Firth, to the head of it at
Beaulie ; and from the head of the Firth about
1 \ miles, up the east side of Beaulie river ; and a
ridge of hills to the east, separate it from the
parish of Inverness.
The Church standeth an half mile from the
sea, and as much from the river; near 5 miles
west from Inverness, and near 3 miles north-east
from Kiltarlaty. In the east of the parish, on
the Firth, is Bunchrive, sold by Inveralachie to
Forbes of Culloden (as also sold to him Ferin-
tosh), anno 1673. Next westward on the Firth is
Phopachie. A branch of the Frasers had this
land in mortgage near 150 years, but it was
redeemed by the late Lord Lovat. A mile far-
ther west, on the Firth, is Newtoun, the seat of
Fraser of Dunballoch, a gentleman of a good
fortune, and a baron. At the mouth of the river
Beaulie, stood the Tower and Fort of Lovat,
anciently the seat of the Bissets of Lovat, and
afterwards of the Frasers, pleasantly situated on
374 SITUATION OF THE PARISH OF KIRKHILL.-
a rich and fertile soil. South of the Church is
Achnagairn, the heritage of Duncan Fraser,
Doctor of Medicine, descended of Fraser of Bella-
drum. At the foot of the hills eastward, is the
barony of Eelick, where James Fraser, lately of
Eelick built a neat and convenient house at
Easter Moniack. And close by it is the tower of
Wester Moniack, once the seat of Fraser of
Strichen, and the land continued to be the pro-
perty of that family, until it was lately sold to
the last Lord Lovat. The whole of this parish
is a rich soil, fertile in corn and pasture ground.
KIRKHILL.
[Situation, Soil, Climate. — This parish extends about
5 miles from that of Inverness along the Firth to its head,
and nearly 3 miles farther upon the bank of the river
Beaulie, to the limits of the parish of Killtarlity.
The plain or low country of Moray has been described
as spread out along the shore, but contracting its breadth,
as does also the firth, as they stretch towards the west.
This great plain terminates upon the eastern confines of
this parish, which may be conceived as an acclivity
rising gently from the edge of the water to the breadth
of nearly a mile. Westward of this, the Firth contracts so
as to leave a plain along the bottom of a hill, which may
be still regarded as one of those low ridges which it has
been said diversify the champaign of Moray ; for behind
this hill there is a vale, as if the river Beaulie had once
occupied its southern, as it does now its northern side,
mixed with the tide : by these two plains and the inter-
vening hill, the breadth of the parish in its western
quarter is expanded to the breadth of 3 miles.
The soil in the low 
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